Protect Academic Freedom, Vote No to Revising The Code

UNC System Board of Governors

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The UNC System Board of Governors will vote to amend the UNC System Code with new restrictions on academic freedom at its February 26 meeting.

This change is part of a broader effort to limit open inquiry and debate in higher education. Within the last two years: the UNC System stripped instructors of their intellectual property rights to syllabi; UNC-CH administrators failed to renew a professor's contract after secretly recording his class; and outside actors have threatened instructors online and in-person because they dislike the topics being taught.

Now, the Board of Governors plans to rewrite the very definition of academic freedom, restricting what faculty can say and do in their classrooms and in public.

These revisions to the UNC System Code will chill speech on campus and lead to more retaliation against faculty teaching or discussing politically contentious topics. The imprecise language in this policy will open the UNC System to lawsuits when faculty are retaliated against or fired.

It is easy to feel despondent in the face of attacks on our institutions, but we have the opportunity and the responsibility to act and make our opposition clear.

At the upcoming meeting on February 26, we will deliver a petition to the Board of Governors to reject this policy rewrite. We will meet in Raleigh to show that we will not stand by as this board threatens the core mission of our beloved UNCs.

Sign and share this petition!

To: UNC System Board of Governors
From: [Your Name]

We, the undersigned, ask the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina to reject proposed revisions to Chapter VI of the UNC System Code.

UNC Faculty Assembly blended multiple sources in October 2025 to define academic freedom in a manner consistent with the American Association of University Professors’ 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure.

Faculty Assembly did not vote, however, on new academic freedom “parameters.” These constraints were added hastily in November and rushed through an insufficient review in December.

These revisions threaten the success and prestige of the UNC System. These revisions will unnecessarily expose the UNC System to future legal and financial risk through what the North Carolina Supreme Court recognizes as “Corum claims” - damages sought when the state violates constitutional rights.

As you know well, the North Carolina General Statutes state: “The primary function of each constituent institution is the discovery, improvement, transmission, and dissemination of knowledge by means of research, teaching, discussion, and debate. To fulfill this function, the constituent institution must strive to ensure the fullest degree of intellectual freedom and free expression.” (NC Gen. Stat. § 116-300)

The proposed revision to Chapter VI of The Code fails to safeguard this noble mandate. Instead it invites political interference and will chill research and teaching in areas deemed disfavorable or politically divisive.

As students, parents, alumni, staff, faculty, and community members, we call on you to protect academic freedom so the UNC System can continue to disseminate knowledge without interference from within or outside of the university. We urge you to adopt a policy on academic freedom based directly on the AAUP's Statement of Principles that has sustained North Carolina higher education for 85 years.

Vote against revisions to Chapter VI of The Code.