STATEMENT Aug. 17, 2015
Angela Redish - Provost Pro Tem and Martha Piper – Interim President
The allegations of breaches of academic freedom in a recent blog post are serious
and UBC has the processes to appropriately such allegations.
Universities serve society but are also established to question society and academic
freedom is the bedrock on which a university exists. The role of critic can only be
accomplished in an environment that is free from administrative, political or
religious constraint.
The collective agreement confirms that members of the University have the
freedom, within the law, to pursue what seems to them be fruitful avenues of
inquiry, to teach and to learn unhindered by external or non-academic constraints.
Suppression of this freedom, whether by the institutions of the state, the officers of
the University or the actions of private individuals, would prevent the University
from carrying out is primary function.
All members of the UBC community recognize and value this fundamental principle,
and must share responsibility for supporting, safeguarding and preserving it.
Academic freedom is balanced by the scholar’s commitment to academic integrity
that requires intellectual honesty and objectivity, unfettered by personal gain or
financial or political considerations.
The principles of fairness and due process are also fundamental to the UBC
community, and we must respect the law to ensure all members of the university
community are enabled to contribute fully to their endeavours. As such, UBC has
rigorous processes in place – established with the agreement of the Faculty
Association – to investigate any allegation of breach of academic freedom. It is
imperative that we follow this impartial process embedded within and protected by
the collective agreement before pre-judging unproven and untested allegations at
this time.
The facts will be gathered and all parties will be heard before reaching any
conclusion. We welcome this process and it would be entirely inappropriate to
comment further on the allegations until this process has been concluded.

Media can learn more about UBC’s rigorous approach to academic freedom
here: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/Vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,33,0,0 and
its grievance and arbitration procedures here:
http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-relations/collective-agreements/collectivebargaining-framework/#21