ABSTRACT
As the power of university administrations expands, academic freedom is often one of the casualties. Limited academic freedom results from the decreasing number of tenure line positions, the scarcity of jobs relative to the number of applicants, and the willingness of administrators to terminate the positions of even tenured faculty members when their power is challenged.
In the face of the weakening of structural protections for academic freedom such as tenure and faculty mobility, professors must develop alternate means of preserving their freedom. They can do this through reform of the faculty handbook and effective mobilization of faculty bodies such as faculty senates.
This essay outlines some of the frequent obstacles to the exercise of academic freedom in the form of inadequate due process and academic freedom protections in faculty handbooks. It argues that basic due process protections that are often taken for granted in proceedings taking place in the broader society are often missing from faculty disciplinary processes. It also points out that effective mobilization of faculty is essential to the protection of the rights of marginalized faculty members who face discipline and termination. Through concerted action and the development of adequate governance documents, faculty members can prevent administrations from acting as corporate human resources departments. This will result not only in improved employment rights, but will promote a freer intellectual environment for students as well.
