Resolution in Support of Academic Freedom and Free Expression
Date
Adopted at the October 24, 2025, NBFC meeting
WHEREAS, institutions of higher learning nationwide have faced increasing pressures that threaten academic freedom and open inquiry, underscoring the need for universities to reaffirm and actively protect these foundational principles; and
WHEREAS, the values of academic freedom in teaching, research, and learning; freedom of expression for all members of the Rutgers community; and the integrity of scholarly inquiry are foundational to Rutgers University’s mission and are affirmed in University Policy 60.5.1 (“Academic Freedom”) and related Rutgers statements on academic freedom and professional ethics;1 and
WHEREAS, Rutgers affirms faculty academic freedom “whenever and wherever they engage in teaching, research, service, or the dissemination of knowledge,"2 subject to standards of professional competence and ethics, and states that faculty “shall be free from institutional discipline in the exercise of [First Amendment] rights” as private citizens;3 and
WHEREAS, threats to academic freedom can arise both inside and outside the Rutgers community, with a wide range of ideological motivations; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, Rutgers faculty have been increasingly targeted and threatened based on their scholarly writing and speech – for example Dr. Mark Bray, a member of the New Brunswick history faculty who has recently been targeted by a Rutgers student group’s petition for his dismissal based on their disagreements with the content of his scholarship, teaching, and public engagement;4 and
WHEREAS, faculty have received threats to their own and family's safety; and
WHEREAS, such threats have heightened concerns among Rutgers faculty and governance bodies regarding the adequacy and clarity of institutional support for faculty academic freedom, free expression, and physical safety,
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the New Brunswick Faculty Council affirms its unequivocal support for the academic freedom and freedom of expression of Dr. Bray and of all Rutgers faculty, in accordance with University Policy 60.5.1 (“Academic Freedom”), the Rutgers Statement on Professional Ethics, and the foundational principles of free inquiry and scholarly integrity that undergird the University’s mission; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Council calls on Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers University leadership to:
- reaffirm to the University community as well as broader public its commitment to academic freedom and free expression,5 making clear that disagreement with the content of faculty scholarship, teaching, and expression, absent violations of law or University policy, does not constitute grounds for discipline or institutional distancing; and
commit to providing legal, safety, and logistical support as needed to all Rutgers faculty targeted for the content of their scholarship, teaching, and/or public engagement.
1 https://free-expression.rutgers.edu/academic-freedom and https://free-expression.rutgers.edu/professional-ethics-statement.
2 https://free-expression.rutgers.edu/professional-ethics-statement.
3 https://free-expression.rutgers.edu/academic-freedom.
4 e.g., https://www.change.org/p/remove-antifa-financier-professor-mark-bray-from-rutgers-university, https://www.professorwatchlist.org/school/rutgersuniversity, https://rutgerspapers.com/profileslist/, https://rutgersaaup.org/rutgers-aaup-aft-statement-in-solidarity-with-brittney-cooper/