Mission & Vision
The “Free Speech Guidelines” adopted by the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 1990 begin by declaring, “Free speech is uniquely important to the University because we are a community committed to reason and rational discourse. Free interchange of ideas is vital for our primary function of discovering and disseminating ideas through research, teaching, and learning.”
The Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard is a faculty-led organization devoted to upholding these ideals at America’s oldest university. Its members differ in many of their ideas. They are united by their commitment to the following three principles:
- Free Inquiry. The Council advocates for academic freedom in teaching, research, and speech for members of the Harvard community.
- Intellectual Diversity. The members of the council believe that Harvard should promote the thoughtful engagement of students and scholars who represent a broad range of opinions.
- Civil Discourse. The Council encourages respectful, honest, and courageous discussion of controversial ideas in and outside of the classroom.
History
In November of 2022, a small group of Harvard faculty members met over dinner at the Faculty Club to discuss the state of free expression on campus. That group concluded that Harvard needed a faculty organization to advocate for the free and civil exchange of ideas inside and outside the classroom. The Council on Academic Freedom launched in March of 2023 with more than fifty members from a broad range of academic disciplines. Today it has more than 170 members with representatives from every Harvard school. In the months that followed, similar faculty efforts have been launched in universities in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.