15.1 General

The basic functions of the university are the advancement and dissemination of knowledge, the development of critical intelligence, and the education of citizens and professional workers for the society of which the university is a part. 

The indispensable condition for the successful discharge of these functions is an atmosphere of intellectual freedom. Unless they are free to pursue the quest for knowledge and understanding, wherever it may lead, and to report and discuss the findings, whatever they may be, university faculty members cannot properly perform their work. As participants in an enterprise that depends upon freedom for its health and integrity, faculty members have a special interest in promoting conditions of free inquiry and furthering public understanding of academic freedom. 

Freedom entails responsibilities. It is incumbent upon faculty members to accept the responsibilities which are concomitant with the freedom they need. 

Those responsibilities are: 1) to students, 2) to scholarship, 3) to colleagues, 4) to the university, and 5) to the larger community which the university serves. To make these responsibilities operational, it is necessary that ethical and professional standards be adopted to guide faculty members in their conduct and that effective mechanisms be established to monitor and enforce compliance with these standards.