Policy Reminder for Faculty and Staff
PNW Faculty and Staff,
I would like to take this opportunity to offer a periodic review of guidelines that help ensure the university speaks with one voice when communicating Purdue University Northwest’s official institutional position on important matters.
As part of the Purdue University system, the state’s land-grant institution, Purdue Northwest is committed to free and open inquiry in all matters. We ensure that every member of our university community has the broadest possible opportunity to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn.
At the same time, it is essential that we are familiar with and adhere to institutional policies and guidance governing communication with legislators, members of the media and external stakeholders.
Government Relations
Important protocols are in place to guide engagement with policymakers. Notably, when faculty or staff are asked to provide their expert views on a given policy proposal, it is crucial to be clear that such views are their own and do not represent those of the university. It is similarly important for faculty and staff to make PNW aware if you interact directly with policymakers.
Please see the Office of Legal Counsel’s guidelines on “Providing Public, Expert or Fact Witness Testimony” for full details. Any faculty or staff member from PNW who is contacting the government relations team in West Lafayette is asked to first contact my office.
News Media
Few people are authorized to provide statements on behalf of the university to news media. We are proud that PNW faculty members offer a wide range of subject matter expertise in their disciplines and may have opportunities to share their knowledge through news media.
To help maximize these opportunities and ensure alignment with Purdue practice, inquiries of this nature should be directed to staff members in PNW’s Office of Marketing and Communications who serve as the institution’s designated spokespersons. Please refer to the Media Inquiry Guidelines for additional direction regarding interactions with journalists.
Authorization to Execute Contracts
All contracts and written agreements imposing financial obligations on the university must be approved by the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Business Services. Only these officials, or their designees, are authorized to execute contracts.
To ensure compliance, please submit all proposed contracts to the Contract Office. For additional information, email contracts@pnw.edu.
Institutional Neutrality
Consistent with our commitment to free and open inquiry in all matters, PNW adheres to the principle of institutional neutrality.
The policy on institutional neutrality, as reaffirmed by the Purdue Board of Trustees, 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 its mission.
Intellectual Diversity
In addition, Purdue’s Policy on Intellectual Diversity provides guidance for all individuals with teaching responsibilities on our campuses to foster a culture of free inquiry, free expression and intellectual diversity.
This policy helps ensure we as faculty expose students to scholarly works from a variety of political or ideological frameworks that may be within and applicable to the given academic discipline, while refraining from subjecting students to views and opinions concerning matters not related to the discipline or assigned course of instruction.
Kenneth C. Holford, Chancellor