Academic Freedom and Control

Abstract

A fundamental problem for univer sity administrators is establish ing a balance between performing the educational duties of the university on behalf of its main clients (students and research consumers) and granting faculty their professional I have earlier (Raelin 1985) referred to this dilemma as the classic managerial challenge of control vs. au tonomy. The managerial imperative of maintaining control over an organiza tion?that is, seeing that employees carry out its mission?is not that dif ferent regardless of the organization in question and the type of employees. As to the issue of autonomy, it seems to hold a special place among profession als, but even more so among professionals. Hence, it merits a pecu liar designation; we call it academic freedom. Although autonomy can characterize a profession, I use it here to describe a fundamental attribute of professional practice?that a profes sional should have the right to deter mine the problems that he or she will examine as well as the means to be used in confronting these problems. It may well be that free dom is more than professional auton omy, although freedom has been narrowly construed by some (Mooney 1987) as merely giving facul ty members First Amendment rights.