The Vanderbilt-WashU Statement of Principles was adopted by the Boards of Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis in fall 2024 to affirm and codify each university’s ongoing commitment to these values.
The core purpose of a research university is the creation, preservation and dissemination of knowledge.
Supported by government funding and private philanthropy, research universities in the United States have produced transformational breakthroughs in every domain, generating extraordinary benefits to society. The tremendous success of this distinctively American system of research, education and innovation has garnered respect and admiration across the world.
The most important condition for the enduring success of the American research university is the pursuit of truth solely through the use of reason, argument and evidence rooted in a culture of free inquiry and rigorous debate.
If research universities are to pursue the truth wherever it lies, they cannot have a political ideology or pursue a particular vision of social change. They contribute to the betterment of society not by pursuing an ideological agenda but through the research and innovation of their faculty and students, by producing educated and knowledgeable leaders, and by serving as a model for civil discourse grounded in critical reasoning.
Our institutions are committed to taking collective and individual action to ensure that this core purpose continues to govern our endeavors in the twenty-first century. We are guided by three key principles:
Excellence
We are committed to excellence in all aspects of our work, free of political criteria—that includes admissions and support of student success, faculty and staff hiring and promotion, the allocation of resources and the recognition of members of our community.
Academic Freedom and Free Expression
We foster an environment of unfettered inquiry and discovery where our faculty and students are free to pursue their academic interests.
We actively encourage opposing views across a broad spectrum of the human experience, including political, economic, social, religious and other aspects, and provide ample opportunities for open debate and dissent without censorship or retribution.
We live by an ethos of civility and respect for the perspectives of others, guided by policies that support dialogue—and enable research and education—free from disruption.
We are committed to institutional neutrality whereby the institution and its leaders, including those in charge of academic units like schools, departments and research centers, do not take positions on political and social matters not directly connected to the core function of the university.
Universities Must Reject Creeping Politicization
Read Chancellor Diermeier and Chancellor Martin's
op-ed in The Chronicle of Higher Education
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