UC Senate asks regents to reject policy to limit what faculty can say on websites

Following a systemwide review, University of California’s Academic Senate is asking the system’s board of regents to reject a proposal to limit the ability of faculty departments to share opinions on university websites.

Under the proposal, faculty and staff would be prevented from sharing their “personal or collective opinions” via the “main landing pages” of department websites, according to a draft of the proposal. Faculty would be able to share personal opinions elsewhere on those websites, with a disclaimer that the opinion doesn’t represent the department or university as a whole.

The Senate’s Academic Council voted unanimously, 19-0, in asking the regents to reject the policy, which is scheduled to go to the board for a vote next week.

The vote followed a systemwide Academic Senate review in which four committees as well as the Senate divisions across all 10 UC campuses submitted comments on the proposed policy.  

“Each of the campus divisions and the four systemwide committees expressed serious reservations about various aspects of the policy,” including its ambiguity and the potential for it to limit free speech, Senate leaders wrote in a letter Friday to regents chair Richard Leib. Their other concerns include how the policy would be enforced and that it suggests an “overly broad and simplistic approach” to addressing a complicated issue.

“We ask the regents to reject the policy outright, or at least delay consideration to provide time for clarification and for analysis of consequences and implementation challenges,” the Senate leaders wrote. 

The regents are scheduled to consider the proposal on Wednesday afternoon during their meeting in Los Angeles.