In February of 2024, ACTA sent a letter to all governing board members at over 1,500 four-year public and private institutions asking that their boards consider adopting a policy of institutional neutrality. The letter states, “Colleges and universities that remain above the political fray can most effectively help students learn how to think, not what to think. A policy of institutional neutrality guards this high purpose of our academic institutions. It also shields them from the consequences of becoming embroiled in political disputes.” A PDF version of the letter can be downloaded here.
Dear Governing Board Member:
For over 28 years, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has helped governing boards promote academic freedom, academic excellence, and accountability at our nation’s colleges and universities.
Today, I write to encourage you to consider adopting a policy of institutional neutrality at your institution. Such a policy, exemplified by the University of Chicago’s Kalven Committee Report of 1967, counsels against taking official institutional positions on current social and political events. It is a bulwark against politicization, and, like the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression, signals integrity to students, faculty, and the public.
Colleges and universities that remain above the political fray can most effectively help students learn how to think, not what to think. A policy of institutional neutrality guards this high purpose of our academic institutions. It also shields them from the consequences of becoming embroiled in political disputes.
Institutional neutrality does not mean silence on issues that affect the mission or operations of the university. Nor does it prevent college leaders from articulating their personal views in response to events that violate basic principles of morality and human decency. By avoiding engagement in political disputes, the capacity for appropriate leadership is enhanced.
In the words of the Kalven Report, “The neutrality of the university as an institution arises then not from a lack of courage nor out of indifference and insensitivity. It arises out of respect for free inquiry and the obligation to cherish a diversity of viewpoints.”
We urge you to join the growing movement of universities that have embraced institutional neutrality. We list them on our website, https://www.goacta.org/kalven-report, which also includes sample board resolutions and other resources you will find useful. We are at your service to help in any way we can.
Warm regards,
Michael B. Poliakoff, Ph.D.
President
Yale University administrators urged a student group to adopt a policy of “broad neutrality” after clashes over Palestinian advocacy. Some say the vague directive could chill speech.
Wesleyan University’s campus was abuzz last week after student protesters, demanding divestment from the “U.S.–Israeli Empire,” occupied an administrative building and refused to leave until the police arrived and threatened arrest. This was a new development for Wesleyan, whose president Michael Roth had boasted about not calling the police during the past year’s protests.
Johns Hopkins University recently became one of the latest campuses to embrace institutional neutrality. However, there is more work ahead to implement this, according to a higher education reform group.
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