PURPOSE
Leaders Institute (LI) acknowledges that the academic staff have the right to express views and opinions and to investigate, either through research or other means, issues that relate to an academic staff member ‘s particular area of academic expertise. To ensure the freedom of intellectual inquiry for all academic staff of LI relating to their area of academic expertise without fear or favour.
POLICY
PRINCIPLES
· LI supports and encourages academic staff to pursue lines of enquiry and to express personal views, both within the Institute and publicly, in their area of academic expertise.
· Academic staff must make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking on behalf of the Institute. Also, members of academic staff will not identify themselves as a staff member of the Institute when speaking, writing or otherwise communicating on matters not within the province of their academic expertise.
· Academic staff members’ responsibilities include approaching any issue in a balanced, open, fair and academically rigorous way.
· The responsibilities of LI include the creation and maintenance of a culture that fosters such enquiry and which does not, in any way, penalise those who may express views that do not align with the views of the institution.
DEFINITIONS
Academic freedom includes the rights of all staff, affiliates and volunteers to:
• hold and express opinions about the operations of the Institute and higher education policy more generally;
• pursue critical and open inquiry and (where appropriate) to teach, assess, develop curricula, publish and research;
• participate, in a personal capacity, in public debates about political and social issues;
• if appropriate, participate in public debates as a recognised expert or as a person with recognised specialist knowledge;
• participate, in a personal capacity, in professional and representative bodies including industrial associations and to engage in community service without fear of harassment, intimidation or unfair treatment;
• express unpopular or controversial views, although this does not mean the right to harass, vilify or intimidate other persons or to demean alternative points of view.
Scope
All academic staff
Key Stakeholder
All staff and students