Criterion One: Mission and Integrity Core Component 1e: The organization upholds and protects its integrity.

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	Academic Integrity In October 2007, UM’s Board of Curators passed a resolution in support of academic freedom and intellectual inquiry. This resolution was adopted after UM Interim President Gordon H. Lamb issued a statement in opposition to a proposed Missouri constitutional amendment known as Cures without Cloning. The Curators’ resolution stated that higher education promotes the common good through enlightened teaching, world-class research, service to humanity and respect for intellectual diversity. The resolution also recognized the high quality of the faculty within the state’s higher education institutions.
UMKC has a long tradition of intellectual diversity and academic freedom. As an institution of higher education, UMKC fully embraces a 700-year definition of the University as a free and open intellectual center that trains scholars and maintains a tradition of learning, critical thinking and investigation. In addition, as an urban university, UMKC actively promotes, through policy and practice, the academic freedom and intellectual pluralism of its faculty, staff and students, all of whom represent a wide variety of socioeconomic, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds and espouse a full range of political and social viewpoints. (From a 2008 report prepared by the Chancellor for the Missouri State Legislature.)
Also in October 2007, the four UM System universities reported to the Curators their plans to make available information about intellectual pluralism and a form for students to use to file discrimination complaints against instructors. At UMKC, the information about intellectual pluralism is posted on the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Web site, along with the 2005 American Council on Education Statement on Academic Rights and Responsibilities. The link to the complaint form for students is found at the UMKC Helpline Web site maintained by the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. A review of UMKC’s actions insuring intellectual diversity can be found in a 2008 report prepared by the Chancellor for the Missouri State Legislature.
Another statement that supports our commitment to academic freedom and intellectual pluralism, entitled Academic Freedom at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and adopted by the Faculty Senate in February 2008, can be found on the Web site of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost of Academic Affairs. The document clarifies the responsibilities associated with intellectual pluralism.