During the past 150 years U.S. courts have demonstrated a special protectiveness toward academics and academic institutions. Academic freedom was not a concern when the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment were drafted and is not mentioned in the "Federalist Papers." However, decisions by a series of Supreme Court justices led to…

Academic freedom is an elusive concept. Many university and college faculty members who purport to possess its protections believe they have a solid understanding of its nature and of the individual rights secured by academic freedom. There is some consensus on the meaning of the term in the academic universe. This concurrence of understanding is…