At the University of Waterloo, our commitment to intellectual exchange, academic freedom, and open inquiry rests on embracing diverse perspectives. These principles guide not only our individual scholars and senior leaders, but also collective bodies that include our Faculties, Schools, Departments, Centres, Institutes and Academic Support Units (ASUs) (these bodies are collectively referred to as ‘units’ in this guidance) when they communicate publicly on social, political, and moral issues.
Consistent with Waterloo’s Statement on Institutional Neutrality, Institutional Restraint, and Communications, units within the University are expected to exercise restraint in issuing official statements on matters related or unrelated to their core academic or operational mandates. While Faculties, Schools, Departments, and ASUs occupy a central place in the University’s research, teaching, and/or public engagement missions, they also play a key role in safeguarding the open exchange of ideas.
Many units at Waterloo collaborate with professional organizations, produce policy reports, and generate white papers that have social or policy implications. When such activities arise naturally from a unit’s academic or professional expertise, they do not violate the principles of institutional neutrality.
Units should clearly distinguish between contributing specialized knowledge in their field and adopting a broader public position on behalf of the University. Whenever a Faculty, School, Department, or ASU issues a research-informed statement or a policy recommendation, it must clearly indicate that the statement reflects the perspectives of that specific group, not necessarily those of the University as a whole.
Rarely will all members—faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students—of an academic unit, for example, share a single viewpoint. Thus, statements purporting to speak for an entire unit run the risk of misrepresenting some members. Units are asked to consider transparent mechanisms to seek unanimity or consensus when expressing shared views. This approach acknowledges the diversity of opinions and affirms each member’s right to participate freely in debates on contentious issues.
Faculty members (and staff) should give careful consideration to the power dynamics that may exist, in particular, between students and faculty members when units discuss making a statement. While students may wish to join a statement, faculty members are encouraged to refrain from soliciting student participation to avoid unintended impacts on students who may feel pressure to sign.
Before issuing any significant public statement, units are advised to:
- reflect on how the position relates to the unit’s mission and expertise;
- ensure that any statement has gone through an appropriate internal review, including robust discussion among those who may be affected or whose work and perspectives are implicated; and,
- use mechanisms, such as open votes or signed letters to ensure that a range of opinions can be reflected in order to preserve an environment of open dialogue and to establish unanimity on the decision to issue a collective statement.
Units can seek advice from relevant University offices (e.g., Office of the Associate Vice-President, Faculty Planning and Policy, Secretariat, Associate Vice-President, Communications and Institutional Relations) when there is uncertainty about the appropriateness or implications of a proposed public stance.
When units make the decision to publish a statement:
- they should inform their dean (or vice-president for ASUs) before the statement is published for their awareness (but not approval);
- they should ensure that the statement includes a disclaimer (see below) that the unit is not speaking for the University of Waterloo as a whole; and
- they should publish the statement on a webpage other than the unit’s main landing page(s) used for academic or administrative purposes. In most cases, units should work with their communications teams to create a dedicated “statements” page (for example https://uwaterloo.ca/[faculty or department]/statements). A template statement page is available from the University Communications team.
Note: statements published on dedicated “statement pages” should not be linked to from the news section of UWaterloo websites.
Draft disclaimer language:
"Members of the [unit name] are issuing a statement concerning [issue]. The following statement does not represent the views of the University of Waterloo or any of its Faculties. Members issuing this statement recognize that there [are/may be] a range of viewpoints within the unit on this matter."
Guidance on social media
When a statement is published by a group or collective on a University website statement page, linking to the statement is appropriate from departmental-level social media accounts only if the post includes a disclaimer: “Members of the [unit name] are issuing a statement concerning [issue].” Statements posted by units in this manner will not be shared or amplified by the University’s main social media accounts (including Faculty level accounts). These guidelines do not apply to individual social media accounts held by students, faculty members or staff.
Guidance for non-unit, informal collectives
Nothing in this guideline prevents or limits individuals from creating informal groups who may wish to express opinions or make statements as a group of private individuals. Care should be taken in canvassing support amongst informal groups to avoid issues related to power dynamics as above. The use of University websites, University (including departmental and Faculty) social media channels and other University digital assets must be avoided in these circumstances.
For further guidance, please refer to Waterloo’s Statement on Institutional Neutrality, Institutional Restraint, and Communications and additional resources on freedom of expression website.