Faculty Statement on Principles of Service, Diversity, and Freedom of Inquiry
Faculty Council Resolution 98-6.
Presented by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Council:
The Faculty Council resolves:
Section 1. The Mission Statement of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill adopted by the Board of Trustees directs us to serve all the people of the State and affirms that the University exists to improve the conditions of human life through service and scholarship that enrich our culture. To fulfill its mission, the University must offer high quality instruction and must be committed to intellectual freedom, to personal integrity and justice, and to those values that foster enlightened leadership for the State and the nation. The University is dedicated to extending knowledge-based services and other resources of the University to all citizens of North Carolina , recognizing the racial and ethnic diversity of the state's population. The Mission Statement recognizes explicitly that the University's mission imposes "special responsibilities upon the faculty, students, staff, administration, trustees and other governance structures and constituencies of the University in their services and decision-making on behalf of the University."
Sec. 2. The Faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill specifically affirms its belief that the University has an obligation (1) to create and sustain an environment of educational excellence; (2) to promote intellectual growth through intense and rigorous educational dialogue: and (3) to foster mutually beneficial interactions among students, faculty, staff, and administrators who possess diverse backgrounds and wide varieties of perspectives and life experiences. We believe these are the minimum conditions essential to educational excellence and are necessary for the University to achieve its mission. Therefore, the University must continue to seek and to assure diversity, in its many manifestations, when considering the admission of students to any of its educational programs and the employment, assessment, and recognition of faculty, staff, and administrators in any of its components.
Sec. 3. We believe that diversity properly understood and judiciously applied to the admission of students and to the employment of faculty, staff and administrators includes consideration of (1) quantifiable data and qualitative information regarding educational preparation (including, when relevant, class rank, courses, degree(s), educational program, employment, grades, major, standardized test scores, volunteer activities, and work experience); (2) life experiences (including their variety, type, uniqueness, duration, and intensity); (3) factors that may contribute to diversity of presence (including, without limitation, age, economic circumstances, ethnic identification, family educational attainment, disability, gender, geographic origin, maturity, race, religion, sexual orientation, social position, and veteran status); (4) demonstrated ability and motivation to overcome disadvantage or discrimination; (5) desire and ability to extend knowledge-based services to enhance the quality of life of all citizens; and (6) motivation and potential to make a positive contribution to the educational environment of the University and to the University's fulfillment of its mission to serve all the people of the State, to enhance the quality of life for all people in the State, and to improve the conditions of human life.
Sec. 4. In carrying out its mission, while the University will comply with applicable law, we believe the University is charged with the duty and responsibility to make the educational and professional judgments required to pursue and attain its educational mission. We assert that making the decisions required to effectively pursue its mission requires of the University educational and professional judgments that are an integral aspect of freedom of inquiry and that, therefore, fall peculiarly, if not exclusively, within the special scope of the University's duty and responsibility.
Adopted April 24, 1998 .