Academic Double Standard?

Our university president was criticized recently for giving the keynote address at a meeting of the Center of the American Experiment, a Minnesota think tank. The critics were concerned about the possible political leanings of the think tank and that the president was paid for his speech.

This incident caused us to reflect on our separate experiences while each serving as the head of an academic department. We could each recall providing almost automatic approval for any faculty request to be off campus for a speaking engagement. In fact, one of us can recall one faculty member who gave at least 50 public lectures in one academic year. Of immediate importance is that we cannot recall ever having asked about the group inviting our colleague, the topic of the speech, or the honorarium that was received.

Question: Should there be a different standard for faculty and administrators? Are administrators more likely to be viewed as speaking for the university, but not so for faculty? And where shall we draw the line: Presidents? Deans? Department Heads? Tenured Full Professors?

This certainly will require the work of a special committee, which will start its work with a survey of the policies used by peer institutions. In two or three years we shall have a new policy on the matter, but no one will remember why.