P. O. Box 7816 ·Austin, Texas 78713-7816 ·(512) 471-5934 FAX.·(512) 471-5984

January 13, 1996

To -Members of the Faculty Council

From - Reuben R. McDaniel, Jr
Chair, Faculty Council

The Faculty Council Executive Committee met on December 18, 1995. We discussed issues raised by a letter sent on December 13, 1995, by Thomas J. Egan, Senior Vice President and Senior Administrative Deputy to the Office of the Chairman, Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold, Inc., to two members of the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin, Professors Robert S. Boyer and Alan K. Cline, and a former member of the faculty, Dr. Steven Feld. The Executive Committee was surprised by the letter and expressed deep concern about its implications. After careful consideration, the Executive Committee issues the following statement.

The Faculty Council Executive Committee affirms the right of faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin to engage in responsible discussion of issues of concern to them. We also affirm the right and responsibility of the Faculty Council to debate issues of concern to the University Community. The Faculty Council Executive Committee will set the agenda for the meetings of the Faculty Council and will have those meetings conducted in a manner that ensures that issues appropriate for consideration by the Faculty Council are open for responsible discussion and debate. The Faculty Council Executive Committee will protest vigorously any attempt to suppress or distort information relevant to its discussions,

On December 5, 1995, at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Faculty Council Executive Committee, the issue of the distribution of materials from faculty members to members of the Council was discussed. The Executive Committee, after careful consideration of the basic principles of open and informed debate, adopted the position that any member of the faculty may distribute materials to members of the Faculty Council when those materials are germane to issues of concern to the Council or, more broadly, to the Faculty as a whole. We recognized that there will likely be faculty who wish to respond to some material distributed and we will encourage these responses.

The Council will provide for distribution at regularly scheduled meetings of the Faculty Council of materials meeting the stated criteria. Reproduction of materials is the responsibility of the faculty member wishing to distribute them. If a faculty member prefers that material be distributed through campus mail the Council will provide faculty members with its mailing list.

These policies and procedures were reviewed and affirmed at the December 18, 1995 Executive Committee meeting.

In an effort to work under these policies and procedures, materials related at least in part to Freeport McMoRan were distributed at the Faculty Council meeting of December 11, 1995, by Professor Reuben R. McDaniel, Jr., Chair of the Faculty Council, at the request of Professor Robert S. Boyer, Computer Sciences. Because the materials were lengthy and potentially controversial, Professor McDaniel specifically requested that Professor Boyer speak at the meeting in order to identify the nature of the materials and their source. Professor Boyer did so.

We hope that the Executive Committee's position on the matter of open and informed debate is clear. If you have concerns, the Executive Committee will be pleased to hear them. In setting the agenda for each Faculty Council meeting, the Executive Committee will determine whether a proposed distribution of materials is germane to issues of the Council and/or the faculty as a whole. We respect the ability of our faculty to be responsible in the materials selected for distribution. A decision to distribute materials is not an endorsement of their content. When appropriate, the Executive Committee will solicit materials on both sides of controversial issues.