Institutional Neutrality

UCIFI believes in institutional neutrality in the university. That is to say, we believe that campus departments or university leaders should not take positions on political issues that do not directly affect the core missions of the university. Department chairs, deans, chancellors, and other leaders are often pressured to take positions on the. Issues of the day as a way of showing solidarity with student sentiment, furthering the policy goals of faculty, or demonstrating the moral values of the university. But these actions inevitably chill speech, since they imply that dissenting views are unacceptable and “against” the university. They also tend to be counterproductive, since they undermine the credibility of universities as institutions devoted to open inquiry, truth-seeking, and academic freedom – not places that seek to become active players in politics.

Members of UCIFI at UCLA, and HxA-UCLA, developed a statement on institutional neutrality in the spring of 2024 (available here). In the fall of 2024, UCLA adopted a Statement on Statements that draws, in part, on our draft. (available here). This is an important step forward, and UCIFI is working to secure the adoption of similar principles at other UC campuses.