A Glance at the December Issue of the Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education: Why Academic Freedom Is a 'Constitutional Myth'

By JJ Hermes

Despite its nearly universal acceptance, academic freedom is not written into the U.S. Constitution, says William E. Thro, solicitor general of Virginia and a former general counsel at Christopher Newport University. Though the idea that academic freedom is a fundamental right is a "constitutional myth," Mr. Thro says, he offers several reasons that the principle must nonetheless be respected as a practical reality.

"While the Supreme Court has frequently mentioned academic freedom