About the Committee

Academic Freedom and Ethics investigates complaints of violations of academic freedom. They also consider questions of ethical conduct of academic or administrative faculty. Faculty Senate Bylaws posit this:

6.1 The Academic Freedom and Ethics Committee shall investigate complaints of violations of academic freedom. The committee shall also consider only a question of ethical conduct of a member of the academic faculty or administrative faculty (in pursuit of the duties prescribed to him or her by the NSHE Code) or violations of academic freedom as defined in the Code, that is sent by the Executive Committee of the Senate or the Senate itself to the committee. The committee shall decide whether a matter should be considered by this committee or referred to another body. On matters the committee agrees to examine, information shall be sought for both sides of the question, a judgment shall be made and minority reports are possible. There shall be no enforcement or legal sanction of judgments made by the committee; however the committee shall express its judgments in whatever form seems appropriate. In any case, all judgments shall be reported directly to the Executive Committee of the Senate and to no other group or person. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall then take any appropriate actions, which may include a report to the Senate. Members of the committee may not appoint proxies.

• 6.1.1 The committee shall report annually back to the Senate on the number and type of cases considered and action taken on each case with no mention of names

Committee members serve two-year terms. The committee developed and safeguards UNLV’s philosophy of academic freedom.