Trustees reaffirm Purdue’s long-standing commitment to institutional neutrality

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (June 7) reaffirmed the university’s commitment to institutional neutrality and delegated additional authority and responsibilities required for compliance with Senate Enrolled Act 202, set to become Indiana law July 1.

Previously, at the April 5 stated meeting, Purdue trustees adopted a resolution that reaffirmed the university’s institutional commitment to academic freedom and faculty tenure, which similarly delegated certain authority and responsibilities for complying with SEA 202.

At Friday’s meeting, the Statement of Policy on Institutional Neutrality was approved and adopted as the official Purdue policy, reflecting the university’s existing and long-standing practice. As required by SEA 202, this policy provides that the university will refrain from taking an official institutional position on a government proposal or policy debate that touches on a social or political issue being contested in the public arena unless that proposal or policy has a direct bearing on the university’s fiscal affairs or on the tools afforded to it to advance its land-grant mission. This policy aligns with Purdue practice — dating to an April 1966 statement from then-Purdue President Frederick Hovde that cites a resolution approved by the University Senate earlier that academic year — and embraces and incorporates the principles set forth in the University of Chicago’s 1967 Kalven Report.

Also as required by SEA 202, diversity committees for each Purdue campus will be impaneled. Each committee will develop recommendations for programming to promote cultural and intellectual diversity and will coordinate with Purdue’s Executive Policy Review Group on any recommended policies. The authority of the provost as the chief academic officer for the university system has been reaffirmed and ratified, such that the provost is empowered to coordinate and align academic affairs activities across all university campuses, including on matters related to SEA 202 compliance. Finally, in keeping with these updates, the 1964 Delegation of Faculty Responsibility has also been reaffirmed and clarified. 

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Media contact: Tim Doty, doty2@purdue.edu

Source: Steve Schultz, senior vice president and general counsel