University of British Columbia, Okanagan

UBC Open Inquiry is committed to the creation and dissemination of knowledge through teaching and research and is guided by the principle of academic freedom, which is defined in the UBC Faculty Association Collective Agreement as the fundamental principle and right:

“to pursue what seems to them as fruitful avenues of inquiry, to teach and to learn unhindered by external or non-academic constraints, to engage in full and unrestricted consideration of any opinion.”

It continues, stressing that these are not only rights that mandate UBC allow for academic freedom, but are positive obligations, that is to say that they are also our duties, as:

“All members of the University must recognize this fundamental principle and must share responsibility for supporting, safeguarding and preserving this central freedom. Behaviour that obstructs free and full discussion, not only of ideas that are safe and accepted, but of those which may be unpopular or even abhorrent, vitally threatens the integrity of the University’s forum. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated.”

UBC Okanagan is also governed by British Columbia’s University Act, which requires taxpayer-funded universities to be “non-sectarian and non-political in principle” (s.66(1)). UBC Open Inquiry is a faculty-led organization dedicated to upholding each and all of these ideals.

The members of UBC Open Inquiry hold diverse perspectives as scholars, and further diverse perspectives with regards to political, economic, and social questions. Nevertheless, we are united by our commitment to the following four principles:

1. Academic freedom and open inquiry. We advocate for the fundamental importance of academic freedom in teaching, research, and speech for all members of the University community and their guests, without which the University cannot succeed in its fundamental mission to advance knowledge via research and teaching.
2. Viewpoint diversity. We believe UBC, and indeed all universities, must promote thoughtful engagement with a diverse array of opinions, without which the self-correcting nature of scholarly inquiry cannot be maintained.
3. Constructive disagreement. Because great minds do not always think alike, and scholars and students can disagree in good faith, we encourage respectful, honest, and courageous discussion—including discussion of controversial ideas—both in and out of the classroom.
4. Institutional neutrality. Because academic freedom, open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement cannot flourish under conditions of institutional orthodoxy, we believe it is vital that the University and its leadership refrain from taking public positions on issues unless they directly threaten the core mission and functioning—research and teaching—of the University.