Contact FAUW
Main office: Temporarily closed.
Email: fauw@uwaterloo.ca
More: Staff directory
Mailing address
Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
Universities and university scholars play a special social role in the search for truth and the advancement of knowledge. In order to perform this role, they require academic freedom.
Academic freedom is a cluster of related freedoms essential to the scholarly mission of the University.
Scholars must be free to decide on lines of inquiry; to choose research topics and methodologies; to create; to curate; to teach; to learn; to disseminate their scholarship and creations; to criticize the institution; and to express their views extramurally. Further, they must be free from institutional censorship, including censorship of library collections.
Academic Freedom is only one of a number of core values that universities have to balance.
Academic freedom isn’t freedom of expression (though they’re related). It’s a distinctive set of freedoms enjoyed by scholarly personnel and protected by tenure or its equivalent (e.g., continuing status for lecturers).
Academic freedom comes with responsibilities. You have a duty to use academic freedom in a manner consistent with the scholarly obligation to base research on an honest search for truth; your scholarship (including teaching) should meet ethical and professional standards; and you must not misrepresent your expertise, nor claim to represent the University.
Policy 33 – Ethical Behaviour (section 1)
Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) academic freedom statement
The Academic Freedom & Tenure Committee (AF&T), if you are concerned that your academic freedom has been or might be violated. AF&T is available to all instructors at Waterloo.
Academic freedom is an important and distinctive freedom that needs to be defended. We defend it best by learning about it and being able to effectively communicate to our colleagues and the public its importance and complexity. Start by reading section 6 of the Memorandum of Agreement.
Dangerous Questions: Why Academic Freedom Matters (online course)
Shannon Dea’s University Affairs column, Dispatches on Academic Freedom and Daily Academic Freedom blog archives
Main office: Temporarily closed.
Email: fauw@uwaterloo.ca
More: Staff directory
Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1