Adopted by the Wake Forest University Board of Trustees on April 25, 2025

Purpose of Statement

Wake Forest University affirms its commitment to freedom of expression and academic freedom. Our long tradition honoring these values reflects the central role of universities as the primary engines to generate and disseminate knowledge in our society. 

The culture within great universities—those that are steeped in independence of thought and academic freedom—creates a community in which lines of inquiry can be pursued unfettered.  We create the most meaningful new knowledge when we are exposed to a variety of viewpoints and to the rigorous and respectful debate that can occur when ideas intersect. And we learn best when we evaluate various ideas that others seek to share so that our knowledge and values are refined and improved when interrogated in a setting rooted in curiosity. Academic freedom and freedom of expression are therefore central to the quest for truth and the freedom to learn that are hallmarks of our University.

Historical and Community Context

Wake Forest University has a history of institutional courage that, while far from perfect, is inspirational and illustrative of the benefits of a deliberate commitment to freedom of expression. University leaders defended the rights of faculty to teach evolution in the 1920s, protected protesting students during the Civil Rights movement, allowed unpopular speakers in the 1970s, and preserved the independence of the University’s radio station against challenges in the late 1990s. When the Trustees protected the usage of a federal grant in 1977 and then defended the right of students to invite a set of speakers in 1978, the American Association of University Professors (“AAUP”) recognized Wake Forest with the Alexander Meiklejohn Award for Academic Freedom. This is a campus community that has been open to new and provocative ideas and a place where those ideas often take flight. On the basis of our strong heritage, we believe the promise of our future as a marketplace of ideas is even greater.

Wake Forest is located in the midst of a region shaped by powerful examples of free expression as a way to honor and liberate people at the margins of society. Our best impulses have not always prevailed, and we have fallen short of these ideals at times. When we lost our way, brave colleagues led the way back through their own expression. This work continues.

Protection of Free Expression

Wake Forest University strives to guarantee the broadest possible latitude for members and invited guests of the campus community to express ideas, perspectives, and opinions consistent with this Statement. Speech and expression should not be obstructed or suppressed, even when ideas are disturbing, offensive, or unwise in the judgment of some community members. The best way that ideas can be countered is to engage, test, and rebut them and offer alternative perspectives.

The University’s motto, pro humanitate, calls us to use our abilities and resources to help ourselves and others flourish; that includes respect for the ideas that others seek to share. A robust exchange of ideas is challenging and can at times be uncomfortable and contentious, but it is the promise and responsibility of a University dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge to promote and protect a free and broad exchange of ideas. 

We also will protect the exercise of teaching and learning at the heart of our mission. Wake Forest may restrict expression that constitutes a direct threat, unlawful harassment, or which otherwise violates the law. The University may also reasonably regulate the time, place, and manner of expression to ensure the regular and continued operations of the University and the ability of others to express themselves consistent with this Statement. This language connects us to the rich history of free expression jurisprudence for guidance about the limited occasions when freedom of expression can and should be regulated.

Protection of Academic Freedom

Just as free expression is the foundation of a community in which ideas are shared, academic freedom is the foundation of efforts to create new knowledge. The generation and teaching of new knowledge requires freedom in research and teaching. Teachers and scholars may pursue any subject or line of inquiry within their expertise. 

The Board of Trustees has published an academic freedom statement in its bylaws, and the University Faculty Handbook reflects the priorities and recommendations of the AAUP’s 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure. This statement is intended to broaden the concept of academic freedom found there to the whole campus community. 

This long record of and commitment to academic freedom is how we guarantee the more elemental freedom of students to learn: they will be exposed to a range of ideas by subject matter experts, not so that they will blithely believe, but so that they will learn to analyze, evaluate, and adapt.

Academic freedom is predicated on the subject matter knowledge and academic rigor employed by individuals as they teach, write, create, or speak in the broader community. It is not a license to represent the University or other members of the community, and it is not a mechanism for claiming a louder voice than others on topics of general interest.

The University’s Institutional Voice

Wake Forest University will use its institutional voice to protect and promote its core function:  to generate and disseminate knowledge in our society. That commitment includes defending free inquiry for different viewpoints, articulating the societal role of an inclusive community of learners, and explaining issues relevant to the University’s operation. The University and its leaders will not, however, establish a single University point of view about public matters that do not directly affect the University’s core function. When members of our community exercise their academic freedom to speak on matters of public concern, they do not speak for the University. 

Wake Forest University cares about the well-being of all members of our community. With a nod to our state’s motto, esse quam videri (“to be rather than to seem”), we focus on providing concrete support. When our students and colleagues are affected by significant local, national, or international events, the University will express its concern by providing care for their health and well-being.

Importance of a Caring and Collegial Community

At Wake Forest, we bring together and cultivate a diverse and caring community of learners where everyone can shape and be shaped by ideas, perspectives, and opinions toward a positive resolution. Creating a trusting community where learning is valued requires that all members know they belong and have the freedom to learn.

Sustaining such a community means that freedom of expression ideally is used to amplify knowledge and honor the humanity of others. Expression, dissent, and critique of ideas in the pursuit of learning and human flourishing are hallmarks of our community. However, expression whose purpose is to diminish the humanity of a person or group of people undermines our efforts to give everyone access to learning.

The responsibility for the impact of our expression on others is part of the exercise of free expression. Perhaps the most important work of preserving our caring and collegial community happens when colleagues tell each other that expression that is allowed is not necessarily appropriate. Navigating this distinction is the role of community members in relationship with one another rather than the subject of policy.

Freedom of expression and a caring and collegial community cannot merely coexist – they depend on an unwavering pursuit of the other to achieve their truest aims.