Task force on statement guidelines

Freedom of speech is the right of a person to articulate opinions and ideas without interference or retaliation from the government. This includes spoken and written words and symbolic speech (e.g., what a person wears, reads, performs, protests and more).

As a public institution, the university is legally required to permit speech protected by the First Amendment, subject only to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.

Our student and employee codes of conduct, policies and disciplinary practices cannot override or contradict applicable state and federal laws and regulations. As a result, the university cannot punish speech that is protected by the First Amendment.

UIC has an Open Expressions Policy to frame how we support and protect the right to engage in open expression activities and the constitutionally defined parameter of those rights. This policy applies to students, faculty, staff and their invited guests.

The university is committed to academic freedom. Academic freedom includes the right of faculty to express ideas and to research and reach conclusions on their areas of scholarly interest and expertise topics, even if some might disagree with those conclusions.

As private citizens, faculty members have the rights of free speech and free expression under the U.S. Constitution.

No. The charge of the task force is to curate guidelines or a policy for “departmental (colleges, schools, institutes, advocacy centers or similar units) statements on matters of real or potential public controversy.”

The charge of the task force is not to control, threaten or repress free speech or academic freedom. The guidelines or policy developed by the task force will uphold the university’s values and mission to provide the broadest access to the highest levels of educational, research, and clinical excellence.

The task force was not created as a reaction to the Israel-Hamas war; it is work that has been ongoing since 2022.

Communications leaders at UIC, UIUC and UIS met regularly for nearly two years to discuss how other universities were developing statement guidelines. During the process they collected research, met with peers and organizations such as the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and conducted stakeholder interviews to propose a system-level approach.

Ultimately, each university was given the charge to develop campus guidelines or policies in February 2024.

The task force represents all members of the UIC community. UIC leadership, in consultation with faculty, staff and students, selected the task force members. The co-chairs did not select the committee members.

The task force welcomes community input and faculty, staff and students can provide comments online. Input is reviewed and considered by the task force.

Once draft guidelines are available, the task force will consult with various stakeholder groups. Guidelines will then go to shared governance bodies, including the Faculty Senate, for additional debate and consideration.

No. The task force will continue the work until completion. The anticipated May deadline was not feasible.