Abstract

Recent events in the United Kingdom have focused attention on the protection at law of academic freedom. Institutional academic freedom may be defined as the freedom of a university to determine its scholarly agenda and system of governance, notwithstanding dependence on external support. Individual academic freedom may be similarly defined as the freedom of individual university members to determine their own scholarly agenda, including how to pursue and present their research, notwithstanding dependence on institutional support. While such freedoms sit in tension, they share a basis in the liberal ideal of the pursuit of truth through teaching, discussion and scholarly research.