McPherson College works to select faculty members who are not only competent teachers but are also in harmony with the mission of the college. Members of the faculty, by choosing to contribute to the achievement of the college mission, enjoy full freedom to pursue the truth and to teach the truth as they see it. The college has chosen to follow the 1940 Statement of Principles of Academic Freedom as amended in 1990 and endorsed by the Association of American Colleges, the American Association of University Professors, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the American Association for Higher Education, the Council of Independent Colleges, and other organizations. The statement is as follows:
Teachers are entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of their academic duties; but research for pecuniary return should be based upon an understanding with the authorities of the institution.
Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects, but should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to the subject. Limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims of the institution should be clearly stated in writing at the time of the appointment.
College or university teachers are citizens, members of a learned profession, and officers of an educational institution. When they speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their special position in the community imposes special obligations. As men and women of learning and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances. Hence, they should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that they are not institutional spokespersons.
This section on academic freedom applies to all faculty members.