SR 24-05 - Resolution to Establish a Mutual Defense Compact to Protect Academic Freedom and Shared Governance in the CSU

WHEREAS: Channel Islands intentionally creates an environment that recognizes the inherent value of diverse voices and the need for an equity lens across all campus spaces, with its President affirming, “our community and every one of its members matter. I write today to those who feel, viscerally, a disruption of belonging within our community. I want you to know that you and yours matter, that you are part of the CSUCI community, and that you have people around you who are concerned for you;” and 

WHEREAS:  Channel Islands and its sister California State University (“CSU”) campuses are part of a system of higher education established by California’s Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (“HEERA”) that provides our academic community with full freedom of inquiry and insulation from political influence; and 

WHEREAS: Channel Islands faculty, students, and staff pursue excellence in teaching, research, and learning through the free exchange of interdisciplinary scholarship; and 

WHEREAS: Effective shared governance is crucial as we face internal and external challenges; as a result, consultation and joint decision making between administration and faculty are essential to the performance of our educational mission; and 

WHEREAS: The Channel Islands Academic Senate has previously identified its shared governance ideals and overall commitment to shared governance; and 

WHEREAS: The federal government has targeted individual institutions with legal, financial, and political incursions designed to undermine their public mission, silence dissenting voices, and exert improper and often unlawful control over campus governance and academic inquiry; and 

WHEREAS:  The federal government has demonstrated willingness to censor curricula; rescind approved research funding and restrict research; target faculty, students, and administrators; and deport students without the due process rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution; and 

WHEREAS:  Academic senates across the nation are standing collectively together against the actions of the federal government; 

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED: That the Channel Islands Academic Senate again affirms its commitment to academic freedom and shared governance; and 

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate calls on university leadership to work collaboratively to protect the integrity of our academic mission and communicate regularly and transparently about external threats to academic freedom and shared governance; and 

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate urges the CSU Chancellor and Board of Trustees to establish a Mutual Academic Defense Compact-with participation from CSU campuses, faculty senates, and the Academic Senate of the CSU (“ASCSU”)-that includes a shared legal and communications defense fund, a coordinated system-wide response to political interference, and a standing summit of CSU leadership, faculty governance, and legal experts to protect the integrity and autonomy of all CSU campuses; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That this resolution be distributed to the CSUCI President Richard Yao, Provost Jessica Lavariega Monforti, the CSU Chancellor’s Office, the CSU Board of Trustees, the ASCSU, CSU Senate Chairs, and the California Faculty Association (“CFA”).