Chatham House Rule

The 2024 Report of the Faculty Senate’s Ad Hoc Committee on University Speech recommended that instructors adopt the Chatham House rule in classes. Under this rule, participants in a meeting are free to discuss comments made in class, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed outside of the class. Implementing the Chatham House Rule can encourage students to speak more freely across ideological differences in classes, and to take ownership of their academic free expression. 

If instructors wish to use the Chatham House rule in their courses, they should state that clearly and prominently in the syllabus at the outset of the term. Instructors may also take violations of the Chatham House rule into account in grading if they have explicitly noted that they will do so in their syllabi. Application of the Chatham House rule must not, however, prevent any student or faculty member from referring to a statement made in class with attribution when seeking assistance from university administrators or reporting violations of university policy or applicable laws to appropriate officials.