Rutgers is committed to the freedom of speech. The free expression and discussion of ideas is essential to our university’s core mission and values. We encourage open and civil discussion, debate, and exploration of ideas and viewpoints while we preserve the right of all in our community to learn, teach, and carry out the university’s essential work.
To excel in our mission as a community requires that we engage in genuine curiosity and commit ourselves to understanding one another—even around the most difficult and divisive topics. Let us also pledge to practice civility in our discourse. We can disagree—even strongly—without shouting each other down. Let’s take a moment to hear what the other has to say. Listening is not acceptance, but it can be educative, and it can help us become better speakers and better thinkers.
Jonathan Holloway
Rutgers President and University Professor
All of the members of the Rutgers University community—our faculty members, students, alumni, and staff—are free to express their viewpoints in public forums as private citizens, including viewpoints that may differ from the majority of people in the university community.
As a public university, Rutgers does not restrict the activities of recognized university organizations, including the speakers they invite to campus, provided organizations obey the law and follow university policy and guidelines regarding these events.
We will defend the rights of all Rutgers community members to speak freely. That freedom is fundamental to our university, our society, and our nation.
Rutgers has guidelines for free expression on campus. These guidelines apply to all members of our community, including students, faculty, staff, visitors, and external groups wishing to participate in free expression at a Rutgers location.
Rutgers University is proud of its long history of activism in which members of the community have engaged in peaceful protests and demonstrations. With a population of over 100,000, consideration must be given to the spaces and guidelines for expressive activities at Rutgers University to provide for the safety of participants and to avoid disruption of educational, research, clinical or business functions of the university.
All students, faculty, staff, visitors, and external groups wishing to participate in free expression at Rutgers are required to adhere to the guidelines.
Academic freedom—the right of our faculty and teaching staff in the discharge of their duties to express their ideas and to challenge the ideas of others, within their area of scholarship, without fear of retribution—is a cornerstone of American higher education.
Rutgers University is a community of diverse ideas; we value academic freedom’s protections that enable our faculty to state their views and engage in lively discourse.
Faculty and teaching staff are expected to maintain standards of sound scholarship and competent teaching. They shall conduct themselves in accordance with the standards of academic professional ethics and other university policies.
Rutgers students come to the university from all corners of the world and from many different backgrounds. The University Code of Student Conduct encourages students to be their authentic selves as they find their place on campus, while also encouraging students to embrace inclusion through discovery, dialogue, and development as they celebrate diverse backgrounds.
The code sets specific expectations for Rutgers student behavior and was created to ensure the safety and security of the Rutgers community. It lists the behaviors prohibited at Rutgers University, the process for addressing allegations of student misconduct, and the possible consequences for students who violate the code.
The spirit of the code promotes student engagement both on and off campus, global citizenship, and leadership. It encourages students to uphold the highest tenets of trust, honesty, and integrity, understanding at all times that our actions significantly impact our personal journeys, our communities, and our larger society.
Rutgers believes that vigorous discussion and debate, as well as free inquiry and free expression, are an integral part of the university community. When expressing themselves, all members of the university community—faculty, staff, and students—as well as visitors to the university have a responsibility to promote respect and dignity for others. Community members and visitors are expected to behave in a fashion that promotes a community free from discrimination, harassment, intimidation, violence, threats of violence, and disruptive behavior of a violent or intimidating nature.
Rutgers will continue to prioritize the safety of our students and their unimpeded academic progress, the protection of our community’s First Amendment rights, and the foundational importance of academic freedom. While the right of freedom of expression is protected, it has limits and does not include the right to engage in conduct that disrupts the university’s operations, endangers the safety of others, or creates a discriminatory or harassing environment.
This is what we stand for, who we are, what defines us.
Our values bind us together as The State University of New Jersey.
Rutgers is committed to driving inclusive access for students, with an aspiration to be the national model for outstanding academic programs, social mobility, and educational equity with purposeful and timely degree completion, career preparation, and lifelong learning.
Rutgers endeavors to instill in our students a commitment to community through service and experiences that contribute to a greater understanding of themselves and others, support their whole person while students at Rutgers, and provide meaningful engagement post-graduation.
Rutgers believes that the work we do through the excellence of our health systems, scholarly research, and outreach programs propels the creation, sharing, and application of knowledge, and our collaborations with local and global partners address societal challenges and improve the lives of people in New Jersey and beyond.