Academic Freedom Awoke

The Origin of Academic Freedom

       “Many people assume that academic freedom arose in the British universities. But such is not the case. Academic freedom had its birth in Germany in the seventeenth century¹. The German Constitution specifically proclaims that "Art and science, research and teaching are free. Freedom of teaching does not absolve from loyalty to the constitution".

       These ideas spread from Germany to England, to France and to other outposts of modern civilized societies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Early American colleges were likewise influenced.

Academic Freedom at the U

       In the United States, historian Richard Hofstadter traced the tradition of academic freedom all the way back to colonial days, and the founding of colleges by religious dissenters².

       In 1875, the first president of the University of Minnesota, Folwell, mentioned “free speech” as “the freeman’s dearest right” in a speech given before conferring degrees³. This can be considered the earliest demonstration that was in close proximity to academic freedom.

       The earliest traceable use of the phrase "academic freedom" was in 1909, also by Folwell. It appeared several times in the University Address, mainly addressing the academic freedom of students⁴.

       The Minnesota Alumni Weekly also mentioned the importance of safeguarding academic freedom⁵ and "the frankest and fullest discussion of views, no matter how radIcal⁶."

       These all indicated that the concept of academic freedom had awoken at the University of Minnesota. We will discuss its progress in the following chapters of the story.