Academic Freedom
LEADERSHIP, ACCOUNTABILITY, STUDENT SUCCESS
Since my opponent has stated that she opposes academic freedom for the Maricopa Community College faculty, I am anxious to share my thinking with you.
Why Academic Freedom?
Why is American higher education, including community colleges, the envy of the world? It is because it is unique. In the United States college professors are free to conduct research, create new knowledge with their research, and then pass it on to others -- without fear of retribution or undue influence from political, economic or religious interest groups.
The Association of American Colleges and Universities and the American Association of University Professors established the principles of academic freedom early in the 20th century. "Academic freedom to explore significant and controversial questions is an essential precondition to fulfill the academyís mission of educating students and advancing knowledge." (AAC&U, 2006)
Professors have an obligation to help students develop critical thinking. The examination of ideas is critical to the expansion of student knowledge and creating an open, free and democratic society. When students go to college they become part of the scholarly community. This means they will have to investigate ideas with which they may not be familiar, ideas which may be new to them and which may challenge them to think critically.
Maricopa Community College faculty members belong to the community of scholars who are experts in their own fields. "Academic responsibility requires professors to submit their knowledge and claims to rigorous and public review by peers who are experts in the subject matter under consideration; to ground their arguments in the best available evidence." (AAC&U, 2006) The goal is always the education of students.
My opponent is opposed to both academic freedom and tenure for Maricopa faculty. She believes that Governing Board Members should oversee the curriculum in the college classrooms. As a Board Member, I recognize that it would be impossible for me to know the appropriate content for a biology course, or a sociology course, or a physics course. Scholars in each field determine the content of each discipline. That is why Maricopa has such high standards for the professors they hire.
Knowledge is power. Academic freedom lets college teachers help their students acquire the learning they need to contribute to society. Knowledge also means a better economic future for this great nation. People who go to college make more money and contribute more to the economy. We need more education, more ideas, more critical thinking -- not less.
"Academic Freedom and Educational Responsibility: A Statement from the Board of Directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities," Washington D.C., 2006/2009.
Fish, Stanley, Academic Freedom is Not a Divine Right, The Chronicle Review, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Sept. 5, 2008, B10.
Vaughan, Barry F., "On Academic Freedom and the Marketplace of Ideas," unpublished manuscript, May 3, 2007.
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