Task Force on Freedom of Expression

January 23, 2008

Dear Members of the Tufts Community:

I believe that a strong commitment to the freedom of expression is widely shared by our faculty, students, and staff. Last August, at the beginning of the academic year, I shared with the community my own views on the issue. During the fall, a number of thoughtful community discussions raised important issues about how we could best put this shared commitment into practice, and it became increasingly clear that Tufts would benefit from a clearly framed institutional policy on freedom of expression.

Accordingly, I am pleased to announce the establishment of a university-wide Task Force on Freedom of Expression, chaired by Professor Jeswald Salacuse of the Fletcher School. I have asked the Task Force to draft a university-wide policy statement on freedom of expression that will guide the development of more specific policies and procedures across Tufts. I believe that such a policy can ensure freedom of expression while preserving an environment that promotes civil discourse on campus and protects members of our community from harassment.

I have asked the Task Force to take a broadly consultative approach to its work, and I encourage you to participate in the opportunities for community consultation that the Task Force will be organizing this term. The full charge to the Task Force and a list of its members are available on the web.  I am grateful to Professor Salacuse and his colleagues on the Task Force for agreeing to undertake this important service for the university.

Sincerely,

Lawrence S. Bacow
President

Membership of the Task Force

Professor Jeswald W. Salacuse, Fletcher School (Chair)
Professor Sawkat Anwer, Cummings School
Dr. Lisa M. Coleman, Office of Institutional Diversity
Professor Steven W. Hirsch, Classics
Professor Daniel G. Jay, Medicine
Mr. Dickens Mathieu, Esquire, Office of University Counsel
Professor Colin Orians, Biology

Charge to the Task Force 

January 3, 2008

Thank you for agreeing to serve on the Task Force on Freedom of Expression.  I greatly appreciate your willingness to help establish a university-wide policy regarding freedom of expression that will strengthen both academic freedom and community life at Tufts.  The attention this issue has received over the course of the fall semester reflects its critical importance in the life of the university.

The Task Force is charged with recommending proposed policy language regarding freedom of expression at Tufts University that can be presented for adoption by the Board of Trustees.  In developing a policy recommendation, I urge you to review best practices elsewhere to determine how other institutions of higher education, public as well as private, have worked to ensure freedom of expression while preserving an environment that promotes civil discourse on campus. 

In discussions this past semester, the debate has sometimes been framed as freedom of expression versus freedom from harassment.  I do not see it this way.  I think we can have both.  The operative issues in my mind are how best to preserve freedom of expression in a way that protects unpopular speech and ideas consistent with the First Amendment, and how to protect members of the community from harassment without defining it so broadly as to require the university to respond to offensive speech with administrative action.

In carrying out your work, I ask that you consult broadly with the members of the Tufts community, including not only faculty but also students and staff.  I leave it to you to decide how best to achieve such consultation. 

While benchmarking and community input should be critical components of your process, I do not expect you to prepare an exhaustive academic report on these issues or to draft a code of conduct.  The highest service the Task Force can render the university is to develop a proposed policy that is thoughtful, internally consistent, clearly worded, and concise.  I would appreciate receiving your recommendations by the end of the spring semester—ideally, in time for the May trustees’ meeting.  That said, it is far more important that you do your job well than it is to meet any deadline.  I have asked Michael Baenen, Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, to serve as staff to the group.

I am truly grateful to all of you for taking on this responsibility, and to Professor Salacuse for agreeing to chair the Task Force.  Your work will be tremendously important to the university and your colleagues.