The right to teach at university is a distinctive philosophical and legalconundrum but a largely unexplored question. Drawing onHumboltdian principles, the legitimacy of the university teacher stemsfrom their continuing engagement in research rather than possession ofacademic and teaching qualifications alone. This means that the right toteach needs to be understood as a privilege and implies that it isalways provisional, requiring an ongoing commitment to research. Yet,massification of higher education (HE) systems internationally has led tothe disaggregation of the academic profession with teaching-only positionsnow increasingly common. University teachers employed to bothteach and research face a narrowing set of performative expectationswith respect to how ‘research-active’ is defined. This paper challengesthese contemporary understandings and, drawing on historical evidence,argues that a broader definition of research and scholarshipneeds to underpin the basis of the right to teach.