Evolution of Academic Freedom in the US Higher Education System as Part of Constitutional Principles

The present paper aims at analyzing the development of academic freedom in the USA as a part of Constitutional principles. The main objective of this research is to identify legal approaches regarding academic freedom, reveal positive and negative sides of its development. It is essential to study the professional and legal definition of the term to determine its international context, what the notion of academic freedom means for the modern society. The research indicates that modern legal constitutional analysis of academic freedom is incomplete for the protection of the interests of academic society. Constitutionally guaranteed academic freedom is limited by state action doctrine, restriction of the principles of freedom of expression of the public servant and judicial decisions, which gives freedom only to the universities and leaves professors’ interests without protection when their interests are contrary to the university’s interests. Academic freedom guaranteed by the constitution, may be incompatible with the concept that implies freely exchanging the ideas in the marketplace of ideas, which are likely to be limited by universities. In order to completely understand and evaluate the importance and purpose of academic freedom, it is necessary to study those cases which led to the establishment of American Association of University Professors - AAUP and the protection of academic freedom in American universities.