Statements of Rights, Responsibilities, and Values

University Statement of Rights and Responsibilities

The University and the Divinity School community include persons from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures, but there exists a common expectation that all members are responsible for maintaining an environment conducive to the pursuit of knowledge, intellectual freedom, and the integrity of each individual member of the community. Such a learning environment depends upon considerate behavior toward all members, respect for one another’s privacy, and accurate representation of one’s own work. Students, faculty, and staff are subject to the policies of Harvard University that govern the conduct of members of the School as articulated in the University-wide Statement of Rights and Responsibilities as stated below.

The following Statement, and the interpretation that follows it, were adopted on an interim basis by the Governing Boards of Harvard University on September 20, 1970, and were voted to remain in effect indefinitely in May 1977. The second interpretation was adopted by the Governing Boards in January-February 2002.

The central functions of an academic community are learning, teaching, research, and scholarship. By accepting membership in the University, an individual joins a community ideally characterized by free expression, free inquiry, intellectual honesty, respect for the dignity of others, and openness to constructive change. The rights and responsibilities exercised within the community must be compatible with these qualities.

The rights of members of the University are not fundamentally different from those of other members of society. The University, however, has a special autonomy and reasoned dissent plays a particularly vital part in its existence. All members of the University have the right to press for action on matters of consent by any appropriate means. The University must affirm, assure, and protect the rights of its members to organize and join political associations, convene and conduct public meetings, publicly demonstrate and picket in orderly fashion, advocate and publicize opinion by print, sign, and voice.

The University places special emphasis, as well, upon certain values which are essential to its nature as an academic community. Among these are freedom of speech and academic freedom, freedom from personal force and violence, and freedom of movement. Interference with any of these freedoms must be regarded as a serious violation of the personal rights upon which the community is based. Furthermore, although the administrative process and activities of the University cannot be ends in themselves, such functions are vital to the orderly pursuit of the work of all members of the University. Therefore, interference with members of the University in performance of their normal duties and activities must be regarded as unacceptable obstruction of the essential processes of the University. Theft or willful destruction of the property of the University or its members must also be considered an unacceptable violation of the rights of individuals or of the community as a whole. 

Moreover, it is the responsibility of all members of the academic community to maintain an atmosphere in which violations of rights are unlikely to occur and to develop processes by which these rights are fully assured. In particular, it is the responsibility of officers of administration and instruction to be alert to the needs of the University community; to give full and fair hearing to reasoned expressions of grievances; and to respond promptly and in good faith to such expressions and to widely expressed needs for change. In making decisions which concern the community as a whole or any part of the community, officers are expected to consult with those affected by the decisions. Failures to meet these responsibilities may be profoundly damaging to the life of the University. Therefore, the University community has the right to establish orderly procedures consistent with imperatives of academic freedom to assess the policies and assure the responsibility of those whose decisions affect the life of the University.

No violation of the rights of members of the University, nor any failure to meet responsibilities, should be interpreted as justifying any violation of the rights of the University. All members of the community—students and officers alike—should uphold the rights and responsibilities expressed in this Statement if the University is to be characterized by mutual respect and trust.

Interpretation

It is implicit in the language of the Statement on Rights and Responsibilities that intense personal harassment of such a character as to amount to grave disrespect for the dignity of others be regarded as an unacceptable violation of the personal rights on which the University is based.

It is implicit in the University-wide Statement on Rights and Responsibilities that any unauthorized occupation of a University building, or any part of it, that interferes with the ability of members of the University to perform their normal activities constitutes unacceptable conduct in violation of the Statement and is subject to appropriate discipline.

Additional Guidance

Students are expected to comply with and respect the rights guaranteed by the University-wide Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and related guidance including but not limited to the Update on University Committee on Rights and Responsibilities dated April 14, 2025; the Update on University Rights and Responsibilities and University Committee on Rights and Responsibilities: Fact-finding Procedures dated July 18, 2024; and the Statement of the Interim President and Deans of Harvard University on University Rights and Responsibilities dated January 19, 2024.

Harvard University Statement of Values

Harvard University aspires to provide education and scholarship of the highest quality—to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to prepare individuals for life, work, and leadership. Achieving these aims depends on the efforts of thousands of faculty, students, and staff across the University. Some of us make our contribution by engaging directly in teaching, learning, and research, others of us, by supporting and enabling those core activities in essential ways. Whatever our individual roles, and wherever we work within Harvard, we owe it to one another to uphold certain basic values of the community.

Harvard Divinity School Statement of Community Values

Harvard Divinity School confirms and embraces the values of the University, seeking only to define them further in light of the unique nature of our local community, understanding the invaluable opportunity presented to us in our differences and shared concerns as we educate scholars, teachers, ministers, and other professionals in the study of religion for local or global leadership and service. 

These values include:

At Harvard University: respect for the rights, differences, and dignity of others.
At HDS: we seek to respect, understand, and learn from the cultures and beliefs of the members of our diverse community. Conscious of our own levels of privilege, we seek—with kindness and compassion—to engage in open and active dialogue that broadens our perspectives, increases our knowledge and awareness, and fosters mutual understanding and empowerment.

At Harvard University: honesty and integrity in all dealings.
At HDS: we are committed, individually and as a community, to listening, speaking, and acting with candor, with equitability, and with courtesy, so that all may participate freely within a climate of openness, trust, and sensitivity.

At Harvard University: conscientious pursuit of excellence in one’s work.
At HDS: we strive to pursue excellence with both graciousness and humility. We acknowledge that excellence is achieved through effort, creativity, and the exploration of new ideas and that individual achievement is rarely accomplished without the support of our community and the collaboration of our peers.

At Harvard University: accountability for actions and conduct in the workplace.
At HDS: in seeking the long-term welfare of all, we endeavor to accept responsibility for the impact of our actions on our community, our environment, and the world. We hold ourselves and each other accountable for our behavior and our use of resources.

At Harvard University: the more we embrace these values in our daily lives, the more we create and sustain an environment of trust, cooperation, lively inquiry, and mutual understanding—and advance a commitment to education and scholarship, which all of us share.
At HDS: as we advance our shared commitment to education and scholarship, we endeavor to build a community, and, ultimately, a world, in which people can peacefully live and work together across religious and cultural divides.