Institutions of higher education exist for the common good. The common good depends upon an uninhibited search for truth and its open expression. Hence, it is essential that each faculty member be free to pursue scholarly inquiry without undue restriction, and to voice and publish individual conclusions concerning the significance of evidence that the faculty member considers relevant. Each faculty member must be free from the corrosive fear that others, inside or outside the university community, because their vision may differ, may threaten the faculty member's professional career or the material benefits accruing from it.

Each faculty member is entitled to full freedom in the classroom in discussing the subject, which he or she teaches but is expected not to introduce controversial matters which have no relations to the classroom subject. Each faculty member is also a citizen of the nation, state, and community; and when speaking, writing, or acting as such, must be free from institutional censorship or discipline, subject to academic responsibility. In such instances, the faculty member should make it clear that he or she is not speaking for the university.

The fundamental responsibilities of faculty members as teachers and scholars, include maintenance of competence in their field of specialization and the exhibition of professional competence in the classroom, studio or laboratory and in the public arena through activities such as discussions, lectures, consulting, publications and participation in professional organizations and meetings.

The exercise of professional integrity by faculty members includes recognition that the public will judge their profession and institution by their statements. Therefore, faculty members should strive to be accurate, to exercise appropriate restraint, to be willing to listen and show respect to others expressing different opinions, and to avoid creating the impression that they speak or act for their college or university when speaking or acting as a private person.

Faculty members should be judicious in the use of controversial material in the classroom and should introduce such material only as it has clear relationship to their subject field.

The concept of academic freedom for faculty must be accompanied by an equally demanding concept of academic responsibility. Faculty members have a responsibility to the institution, their profession, their students, and society at large. The rights and privileges of faculty members extended by society and protected by governing boards and administrators through written policies and procedures on academic freedom and tenure, and as further protected by the courts, require reciprocally the assumption of certain responsibilities by faculty members. A&M System Policy 12.01 and A&M-Commerce Procedure A12.01.