Husky Alumni & Friends Applauds the University’s Enhanced Integration of Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression

In 2024, the UW’s central administration funded a new “Enhanced Integration of
Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression” that seeks to set a foundation for new students to engage in meaningful discourse while remaining open to learning from other's ideas. https://fyp.uw.edu/faculty-staff/shared/enhanced-integration-of-academic-freedom-and-freedom-of-expression/. This effort focuses on educating incoming freshmen and transfer students about the values of academic freedom and open expression through tailored messaging and programming. This is a good start, and we hope that the project will be continued and expanded to include promoting viewpoint diversity among faculty and returning students as well. 

The University should consider using the school’s annual FIRE ranking as a gauge of the effectiveness of the program. This is a step in the right direction, but more must be done to reorient the campus culture to one where civil discourse flourishes and where students and faculty pursue truth and knowledge with integrity and courage.