Academic freedom relates to the unfettered ability for faculty to conduct professional research and teaching practices in their fields. While faculty are permitted to teach course content and research as it relates to their professional and educational background, they also serve to honor, respect, and cultivate spirit of creativity, inquiry, and respectful criticism in their interactions with students and colleagues. By doing so, the learning community if afforded the free flow of ideas that is a bedrock of the higher education institution.
Because faculty hold a special place in society, they are encouraged to always operate (on and off-campus) in respectful and dignified ways. In doing so, they should be clear to highlight when they are representing their own thoughts versus the thoughts of the institution