Committee Report and Policy on Institutional Statements

Dear colleagues,

In May 2024, following a meeting of the General Faculty, I announced the creation of two working groups to address different aspects of how to promote dialogue and debate on campus through robust faculty input: 

• The Committee on Freedom of Expression and Dissent, chaired by Sam Levey, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Arts and Humanities, was charged with reviewing Dartmouth's policies around freedom of expression. After extensive discussion, and meetings with faculty governance and student groups, committee members are making final revisions to their policy.
• The Committee on Institutional Statements, chaired by John Carey, the Wentworth Professor in the Social Sciences, was charged with considering the conditions under which Dartmouth leaders should make statements on major issues of the day. The committee sought input from faculty experts across campus to inform its deliberations.

Professors Levey and Carey presented an overview of their committees' recommendations at the October meeting of the General Faculty. The Committee on Institutional Statements submitted its recommendations in a report to the Steering Committee of the General Faculty, and I am pleased to announce that the Steering Committee discussed and accepted the report. Its core principles were also unanimously accepted by the Board of Trustees.

In consultation with senior leadership, I created a new policy on Institutional Restraint: Statements from Dartmouth and its academic units that replaces the prior policy on Institutional statements vs Individual statements. You may read it at your convenience, along with my full memo, the associated committee report, and a dissent report.

Professor Carey and I will meet with the deans and chairs of departments, programs, centers, and institutes this winter to discuss how this policy applies to their academic units.

Best,

David Kotz '86

Provost