The University endorses the statement on Academic Freedom within the 1940 Statement of Principles of the American Association of University Professors. A widely adopted professional standard, it states:

1. Teachers are entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of their other academic duties; ...
2. Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject. [The footnote from the 1970 Interpretative Notes on the AAUP Statement reads: "The intent of this statement is not to discourage what is ‘controversial.’ Controversy is at the heart of free academic inquiry which the entire statement is designed to foster. The passage serves to underscore the need for teachers to avoid persistently intruding material which has no relation to the subject."] ...
3. College and university teachers are citizens, members of a learned profession, and officers of an educational institution. When they speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their special position in the community imposes special obligations. As scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances. Hence they should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution.

The Faculty Senate approved the following statement:  
Faculty academic freedom is the freedom to teach; to explore all avenues of scholarship, research, and creative expression and to disseminate the results; and to speak or write on any matter of public concern and on any matter related to professional duties and the functioning of governance of the University. Academic faculty have the free speech right to address in any forum any matter that is of social, political, economic, or other interest to the larger community, without restraint beyond that imposed by professional standards and ethics or by law. (from UVA Faculty Senate minutes, 2013)

In June 2021, the University of Virginia Board of Visitors formally adopted a statement put forward by a Committee on Free Expression and Free Inquiry. The full text of the statement may be found on the UVA Free Speech website. The UVA Free Speech website also includes Freedom of Speech FAQs and a catalog of Policies & Regulations pertaining to free speech.