Abstract
This article addresses recent case law that could alter the course of academic freedom in the twenty-first century for a public university. We examine current folklore that Academic Freedom may be a right that: a) gives the institution the right to determine for itself on academic grounds who may teach, what may be taught, how it shall be taught, and who may be admitted to study; b) grants the faculty the right to research and teach without interference from non-peers; and c) is a special concern of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We find truths, half truths and conduct an historical re-examination of rights, finding them to be privileges that need faculty vigilance to retain them. While each one of the above statements describing what “may be rights” are true, each of them are half-truths which have contributed to a common folklore about academic freedom. We conclude, in light of the recent case law, that academic freedom is a contractual privilege that should be closely guarded by members of the academy for future generations.
