Rutgers' Commitment to Free Expression and Academic Achievement

August 19, 2024

Members of the Rutgers Community:

The dawn of a new academic year at Rutgers, full of promise and possibility, is an opportune time to reiterate and celebrate the values we share as a scholarly community.

At Rutgers, we are committed to academic excellence and access, to the common good, and to achieving the ideal of a beloved community. We hold dear our mission as a public institution and the State University of New Jersey. Through the undergraduate, graduate, professional, and continuing education programs we provide, students prepare themselves for rewarding careers and lives of purpose. Informed by our constant pursuit of new knowledge, we perform public service to support the communities of our state. And our research and clinical care work to improve health and advance the environmental, social, economic, and cultural well-being of New Jersey, the nation, and the world.

At a time of enormous global challenges, and equally extraordinary scientific and technological advancements, the university campus is one of the most exciting places on earth. Universities like ours will continue to be arenas in which competing ideas play out and where new ideas are formed. And that’s a good and essential thing. But in that quest for truth, in this marketplace of ideas, we must commit ourselves to understanding each other—even around difficult issues and even if we disagree strongly. As I have argued before, we need to recognize and embrace our shared humanity, with all its messiness and contradictions.

Current political tensions and global conflicts are certain to continue in the coming months, and as we have seen in the past, members of our community will have different viewpoints on and reactions to these events. Discussion and debate about these critical issues are an important part of the intellectual experience at Rutgers. As we hold those conversations, both formal and informal, I once again call on our students, faculty, and staff to be a model for the nation in civil discourse, in listening, and in civic engagement. Above all, we must keep our community members safe.

To help us navigate the coming year and beyond, the university has established a centralized website focused on Free Expression at Rutgers, which will launch tomorrow. The site affirms our longstanding commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech, reiterates our policies related to student conduct and professional ethics, and articulates clear guidelines for free expression. Its purpose is to ensure that everyone in the Rutgers community is aware of and can act on our commitment to the fundamental freedom of expression while ensuring the safety of our community members, the uninterrupted academic pursuits of our students and care of our patients, and the continued business operations of our institution. I strongly encourage you to visit the site and refer to it throughout your pursuits as a member of our community.

We at Rutgers are a passionate and engaged intellectual community, and our diversity—including our diversity of viewpoints—can be one of our greatest strengths. In advocating effectively for our positions while seeking to understand, respect, and even learn from those who disagree, we can truly be a model of excellence.

I look forward to the year ahead and thank you for your part in making Rutgers one of the best universities in the nation.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Holloway
President and University Professor