Faculty Senate limits speech code

See also Speech code documents

In a move that could be followed by universities and colleges nationwide, the Faculty Senate voted Monday to essentially eliminate a controversial faculty speech code.

The vote came after a university committee spent almost two years reviewing the code, under which no professor had ever been formally punished.

“This is an issue of common sense,” said Donald Downs, a political science professor who served on the Ad Hoc Committee on Prohibited Harassment Legislation.

Proponents of the code said it was needed to punish egregious and harmful speech by professors. But free-speech advocates argued that it trampled on the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

UW–Madison approved the nation’s first university speech code in 1981 and updated it in 1988. Many in academia look to UW–Madison as a leader on free speech issues, based on the university’s strong and historic emphasis on academic freedom.

After nearly two hours of debate, the senate voted to strike from the code provisions related to protected and unprotected expressions in instructional settings, and discipline. On a 71-62 vote, it approved modified language that reads: “Accordingly, all expression germane to the instructional setting – including but not limited to information, the presentation or advocacy of ideas, assignment of course materials, and teaching techniques – is protected from disciplinary action.”

The policy encourages students who feel they have been harmed to discuss the matter with their professor. If they are not satisfied, students should pursue the matter through official university channels, the policy states.