Institutional Restraint

Freedom of expression is an essential element of a thriving academic community. Institutional restraint is a tool that promotes that ideal. It reflects the idea that universities like Dartmouth should generally refrain from taking positions on social and political issues so that debates and discussions can be led by individual community members and not institutional leaders.

Restraint at the institutional level protects and enhances freedom of expression because institutional endorsement for a specific position or belief may deter community members who do not share that belief from expressing their skepticism or opposition. An institution committed to inquiry and open discourse should, therefore, issue institutional statements sparingly – typically when external events have a direct impact upon the relationship of the institution to its members.

As a practical matter, the concepts of institutional restraint and institutional neutrality are interchangeable; both are designed to promote freedom of expression for individual campus community members. However, policies and implementation of institutional neutrality or restraint differ depending on the university. For example, Dartmouth's policy on institutional restraint also applies to academic units, which is not the case at other institutions.

Dartmouth seeks to foster a community where faculty, students, and staff engage complex issues, including controversial issues of the day. 

The institution should not presume that these issues are settled nor that there is a consensus within the community. An institutional endorsement of a specific position or belief may deter community members who do not share that belief from expressing their skepticism or opposition, thereby chilling speech, shutting down debate, and curtailing the development of the best ideas and outcomes.

To provide space for diverse viewpoints to be raised and fully considered, Dartmouth believes it should therefore exercise general restraint in issuing institutional statements.

In the interest of meaningful faculty engagement to safeguard freedom of speech across campus, Provost Dave Kotz charged the Committee on Institutional Statements, chaired by John Carey, the Wentworth Professor in the Social Sciences, with considering the conditions under which Dartmouth leaders should make statements on major issues of the day. 

The committee sought input from faculty experts across campus to inform its deliberations and submitted its recommendations in a report to the Steering Committee of the General Faculty, which accepted the report. Its core principles were also unanimously accepted by the Board of Trustees.In consultation with senior leadership, the Provost created a new policy on Institutional Restraint: Statements from Dartmouth and its academic units which took effect on Dec. 10, 2024. The new policy replaces the prior policy on Institutional statements vs Individual statements.

Though these terms are used interchangeably in common discourse, a faculty-led committee recommended the word “restraint” to signal that Dartmouth will not remain neutral on all topics. When confronted with issues directly relating to Dartmouth's mission, the university may choose to issue an institutional statement where senior leaders will reaffirm Dartmouth's core values and commit to taking actions in support thereof.

This general policy of restraint applies specifically to Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees, its president, the senior leadership team, its schools, institutes, centers, and all academic departments.

The Board of Trustees and the following senior leaders (or their designees) are the recognized institutional spokespeople for Dartmouth: the President, the Provost, the Senior Vice President for Communications, the Director of Media Relations, and the General Counsel. No other individual, group, or department has the authority to issue official statements or speak on behalf of Dartmouth.

Dartmouth community members are free to make statements as individuals, including, for example, as subject-matter experts. Such statements must be clearly made in an individual capacity and should include a disclaimer that community members are not speaking on behalf of Dartmouth.

Individual faculty members, including department chairs, are free to make statements as individuals, including, for example, as subject-matter experts. Such statements must be clearly made in an individual capacity and should include a disclaimer that community members are not speaking on behalf of Dartmouth.

Should a faculty member wish for their department to issue a statement, they must follow the process outlined in Dartmouth’s policy on institutional restraint.

Dartmouth’s institutional restraint policy does not apply to students. All students can and should continue to freely express their opinions, ideas, and dissent in accordance with Dartmouth's Freedom of Expression and Dissent policy and related policies governing student conduct.

Dartmouth community members are free to make statements as individuals, including, for example, as subject-matter experts. Such statements must be clearly made in an individual capacity and should include a disclaimer that community members are not speaking on behalf of Dartmouth.

Staff may be asked to speak on behalf of the institution when they are subject matter experts. Examples include a media request about campus construction or new student support programs. In cases like these, a staff member is often better positioned to speak on the topic than Dartmouth’s designated spokespeople. Media requests for staff members are coordinated by the Director of Media Relations or their designee.

Any communication from Dartmouth’s designated spokespersons related to core mission that is conveyed to the public, the entire Dartmouth community, or its schools is an institutional statement. In recent years, the principal medium for institutional statements has been email, in the form of a community message, but other types of media (for example, social media posts, news releases, or media statements and interviews) may also contain institutional statements.

Dartmouth community members are free to make statements as individuals, including, for example, as subject-matter experts. Such statements must be clearly made in an individual capacity and should include a disclaimer that community members are not speaking on behalf of Dartmouth.

Senior leaders of Dartmouth and its schools will continue to communicate regularly with their respective community members, providing campus updates, support, and guidance on matters directly relevant to Dartmouth's mission, community, and operations.

Examples of this regular communication include welcome messages from the Deans of Thayer or Tuck on the first day of class, updates on new policies from the Provost, or the announcement of a new wellness initiative from the Chief Health and Wellness Officer. 

This regular communication could also include the Dean of Geisel giving an interview to The Dartmouth about a new academic program, or the head of Campus Services discussing construction updates at a public forum on campus. 

Though when confronted with external issues, Dartmouth leaders and its academic subunits will exercise general restraint in issuing a statement unless the issue directly relates to or impacts Dartmouth's mission. When a statement is issued, senior leaders or designated spokespeople will reaffirm Dartmouth's core values and commit to taking actions in support thereof.

While Dartmouth will not routinely take public stances on controversial or global events, we remain committed to supporting our community members who may be impacted by such events. The university will continue to provide resources, guidance, and spaces for reflection, dialogue, and support – and communicate with the appropriate communities or individuals. Our goal is to ensure that every member of the Dartmouth community feels valued and supported, even when the institution chooses not to issue a formal statement on a particular issue.

Under Dartmouth’s policy of institutional restraint, the university would be unlikely to weigh in on the outcome of an election, but may issue an institutional statement if a new federal or state law impacts how Dartmouth can conduct the business of the university.

Dartmouth has made previous institutional statements that would apply under this new policy. One example is when Dartmouth issued a community message following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on affirmative action that impacted college admissions. This op-ed about the value of H-1B visas is another example  of how a Dartmouth senior leader weighs in on a topic that directly impacts our ability to t fulfill Dartmouth’s mission.

The Board of Trustees and the following senior leaders (or their designees) are the recognized institutional spokespeople for Dartmouth: the President, the Provost, the Senior Vice President for Communications, the Director of Media Relations, and the General Counsel. Spokespersons for Dartmouth’s schools should be limited to their respective deans or their designees. No other individual, group, or department has the authority to issue official statements or speak on behalf of Dartmouth.

Dartmouth community members are free to make statements as individuals, including, for example, as subject-matter experts. Such statements must be clearly made in an individual capacity and should include a disclaimer that community members are not speaking on behalf of Dartmouth.

Institutional statements that take a specific position or belief may deter community members who do not share that belief from expressing their skepticism or opposition.

For example, a student exploring a major might visit a department’s homepage and encounter a statement denouncing that student’s political ideology. This could discourage the student from enrolling in classes, sharing their views in discussions, or pursuing that field of study. Similarly, junior faculty, who are seeking tenure, might feel pressured to align with senior colleagues’ viewpoints by signing department statements, even if they disagree.

Dartmouth’s policy on institutional restraint includes that the principle of restraint should guide statements from academic units like departments, programs, centers, and institutes. That said, academic units are loci of specialized scholarly expertise and academic practice. On matters where such expertise applies, academic units may choose to issue public statements informed by their expertise.

The policy outlines the processes and practices academic subunits should take when issuing such statements:

• Before issuing a specific public statement or endorsement, and in a process separate from deliberation on any specific public statement or endorsement, the academic unit must establish the list of unit members who are enfranchised to propose and to vote on public statements or endorsements. Enfranchised members may include tenure- and non-tenure line faculty members, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and all exempt and non-exempt staff, including senior administrative and leadership positions and non-faculty positions, such as Research Associates, Research Fellows, and Research Scientists/Engineers.
• Votes on any proposed statement or endorsement must be conducted anonymously.
• For any statement or endorsement the unit publishes, it must include a list of the categories of members enfranchised to vote (for example, "tenure-line faculty, lecturers, and research faculty") and the vote tally – the number of enfranchised members in favor, against, abstaining, and not voting.
• Before publication, the academic unit should inform the Provost of any statement it intends to publish or endorse.
• Public statements or endorsements should be published in a separate location from the unit's main channel of communications on curricular and administrative matters, campus activities, unit initiatives and programs, and resources available to students and unit members. Currently, the main channels of communications are the homepages of unit websites. In this context, the academic unit may establish a webpage other than its homepage to host public statements and endorsements from its members. Any statements or endorsements from the academic unit that preexist these guidelines should be moved from their current location to the unit's location dedicated to public statements and endorsements.
• Public statements or endorsements must include a clear disclaimer that the unit is not speaking for Dartmouth as a whole.
• Per the Lobbying and Political Activities policy, public statements and endorsements may not "participate in, or intervene in... any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office", "or otherwise attempting to influence legislation."
• No individual should purport to speak on behalf of the academic unit in any communication unless they have completed this process.