The University of Michigan administration has been asked to prepare a formal Regents’ Bylaw that would codify a position of institutional neutrality on political or social issues not directly connected to internal university functions.
Regent Sarah Hubbard asked Timothy G. Lynch, vice president and general counsel, to prepare the bylaw for consideration at the board’s October meeting. A formal public comment period would precede that vote.
MORE INFORMATION
The request, which came during the board’s Sept. 19 meeting, follows a report by U-M’s Committee on the University of Michigan Principles on Diversity of Thought and Freedom of Expression that recommended U-M pursue institutional neutrality, which sets a strong presumption against institutional statements.
Hubbard said institutional neutrality does not stop anyone from speaking out on their own, “but is really only about the university in general.”
“It says you, the experts and scholars, should be the ones engaged in public debate and discourse. You should move knowledge and fields forward. It’s not up to the chairs, deans or administrators to make those arguments, it’s up to you,” she said.
In its 131-page report issued Sept. 17, the advisory Principles Committee, as it has become known, pointed to a fractious political and social climate in which it is increasingly common for university leaders or departments to issue statements that oppose or support specific policies, or seek to signal support for particular positions on political or social issues.
“Such institutional statements disserve the university’s mission. They undermine our commitment to open inquiry by suggesting that those who disagree are unwelcome. They cause would-be dissenters to worry that voicing disagreement may jeopardize admission, grades, or advancement,” the report said.
“This risk is especially acute for statements issued by or on behalf of departments or other units that make up the university because of the closer connections among the individuals within those units.”
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
The Principles Committee included 32 faculty members from 12 schools and colleges, a librarian, seven staff members and two students — all drawn from across the university’s Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses and Michigan Medicine.
The report drew from a communitywide survey, open from May 24 to June 30, that collected responses from 4,133 students, faculty, staff, alumni and retirees.
Lynch, who chaired the advisory committee, highlighted for the board the recommendations of three subcommittees that contributed to the final report.
“All of us should be proud of what our community had to say — thoughtful, opiniated, angry, great ideas. It is exactly what you’d want to see by an academic community, the thoughtfulness that went into those answers,” Lynch said.
“What I would say about the whole report is there is much more work to be done for us to live up to the principles. (President Ono) and the board have set down very high goals for us as a university. They are the kind of goals a great public university should take on. The report is already generating significant debate and discussion, and those are wonderful things.”
The report reached several conclusions, most notably that “diversity of thought is lacking, as most respondents agree that liberal or progressive voices dominate the conversation. Deficiencies in constructive disagreement are compounded by social pressure that silences people who disagree with prevailing perspectives. Individuals holding conservative, libertarian, and traditional Christian views report significant pressure to self-censor.”
Beyond institutional neutrality, other recommendations include a proposal to create a campuswide pluralism initiative that would promote models for civil discourse, developing an essay prompt asking applicants to explain how they would engage individuals with whom they disagree, and creating a required course for incoming students on freedom of expression, diversity of thought and dialogue across differences.
The report is a continuation of an effort that in January produced the University of Michigan Principles on Diversity of Thought and Freedom of Expression, which reinforced the university’s commitment to freedom of speech.
