A situation at Oberlin College in Ohio in which an assistant professor posted material on social media that the school’s Board of Trustees has termed “anti-Semitic and abhorrent” has raised anew the limits of “academic freedom.” What exactly is academic freedom? According to a primer on the website of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges: American higher education relies on the fundamental value of academic freedom. Academic freedom protects college and university faculty members from unreasonable constraints on their professional activities. It is a broad doctrine giving faculty great leeway in addressing their academic subjects, allowing them even to challenge conventional wisdom. Under principles of academic freedom, a faculty member may research any topic. He or she may raise difficult subjects in a classroom discussion or may publish a controversial research paper. The excellence of America’s higher education system rests on academic freedom.

March 7, 2016 ・ From The Washington Post