In support of our mission “to inspire learning; prepare a diverse population for creative and responsible participation in a global society; and serve as a leader for intellectual, economic, and cultural awareness in the community,” FSW protects the principles of academic freedom and responsibility in upholding the search for truth and the dissemination of knowledge. Academic freedom for faculty is the right of intellectual inquiry and of communications within one’s field of expertise inside the classroom, and the liberty from institutional censorship or discipline when speaking or writing as a citizen outside the classroom. The College understands that this freedom is accompanied by responsibility to ensure that controversial material presented in the classroom is relevant to the instructional subject, of high quality and in good taste, and that as a member of a learned profession the faculty member should bear in mind that the public may judge that profession and the College by his/her expressions. The faculty and the Board of Trustees at Florida SouthWestern State College recognize that the attainment of the objective of the College is dependent upon a prevailing atmosphere of academic freedom and civil discourse, which are essential to both teaching and research. Members of the faculty are entitled to academic freedom as defined by the following principles: A faculty member is entitled to full freedom of inquiry and of communications, and must be free of any arbitrary limitations on the study, presentation, interpretation, or communication of facts and ideas in any branch of learning consistent with the standards and practices of academic inquiry.
A faculty member also has an obligation to uphold the search for truth and the dissemination of knowledge which are important for the maintenance of a free society.
Faculty are private citizens, members of a learned profession, and respected employees of an educational institution. When they speak or write as private citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline. As scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances.
A faculty member also has an obligation to uphold the search for truth and the dissemination of knowledge which are important for the maintenance of a free society.
A faculty member has the right and responsibility to recommend teaching materials, but has the duty to choose materials that are among the best available, germane to the subject and relevant to the purpose of the course.