Academic freedom

Observers detect message that caution on criticism is price of increased funding, but suspect balancing act will be difficult to sustain

Debates around transgender rights illustrate why intellectual freedom rules must be in place before touchy topics arise, say authors

The crackdown on ‘Islamo-leftism’ is a purely political move to court right-wing votes in the coming election, says William Barylo

Worries about Islamo-leftism in France and free speech in England reflect disciplines’ straddling of science and activism, says Alexis Artaud de La Ferrière

Ethics approval for survey shaping government policy should still stand, says university panel

The Chicago Principles are powerful partly because they are linked to institutional history and values, say Carolyn Evans and Adrienne Stone

Universities must develop their own cultures of academic freedom rather than borrowing them, according to Australian authors

Academics and public health officials quit Covid-19 research or need police protection after attracting threats

Despite new encouragement, campuses that quit under Trump not considering reversals

Hepi event also hears v-cs argue that free speech rows reflect wider social issues ‘at play in universities’ as key sites of debate

But Frédérique Vidal admits the term ‘has no scientific definition’, and it remains unclear who will conduct the investigation

Mushrooming university may need to limit its activities to balance the books, new president suggests

Organisation charged with leading probe says term has no ‘scientific reality’ and is being used to shut down academic discussion of race and colonialism

Scholars at Risk denounces arrests and police actions on campus

A national ‘great debate’ in England would be more effective than imposing free speech champions and threatening fines, says Dennis Hayes

University and College Union accuses ministers of ‘fighting phantom threats’

Legislation will enable police presence on campuses after years of academics being assaulted, held hostage and blocked from entering buildings

Gavin Williamson’s call for OfS to ‘support individual academics’ in curriculum rows could ‘set up wall with university leadership’

Vote comes amid growing row over IHRA definition, which a UK minister wants universities to adopt

As military overlords revert to type, concerns mount over fate of detained Australian economist

Fighting discrimination is a must, but the IHRA document undermines that fight and threatens free speech, says Hagit Borer

Experts call on global community to support Burmese scholars

Expert fears that sexual minorities are ‘invisible and muted’ across Chinese campuses

Gang Chen gets backing as US reported to be considering retreating from such cases

Railing against ‘anti-Russian forces’, lawmakers are proposing state control over ‘educational activities’

National University of Singapore Press criticised over decision to scrap publication of title critical of country’s rulers

John Eastman, a renowned conservative, joined Trump at rally to push vote fraud claim

Appointment of Melih Bulu, a former ruling party political candidate, has triggered days of protests from staff and students at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul

Defence controls, research fields and New Colombo Plan in the frame, as bureaucracies flag foreign interference risks

Study finds dismissed supporters of Academics for Peace struggling to gain residence permits, find work and travel

Academics should not be seduced by the moral certainty on either side of the ‘with us or against us’ divide, says Brad Evans

Ministry warns researchers against ‘degrading’ nation in pursuit of international journal publication

Daily check-ins launched during the Covid outbreak appear to be increasingly normalised

Community Security Trust finds 123 incidents affecting Jewish students, academics and student bodies over past two years

‘Confusion’ over UN rules leads event organisers to bar students, experts or groups

More than 50 rectors with no international publications continuously tweet pro-government messages, reflecting country’s waning academic freedom

UK-educated scholar is outspoken about the unjust treatment of girls and women

Anne-Marie Brady complied with policies and legislation, says Canterbury, but statement calls for ‘clarity’ amendments

Amendments to draft proposed by university executive win overwhelming backing in ballot

Australian stocktake urges pared back free speech policies, with civil behaviour desirable but not essential

Gavin Williamson’s directive will embolden other groups to demand the enforcement of their interests by ministerial fiat, says Geoffrey Alderman

Chair of English regulator criticises universities for talking up independence and then seeking support during pandemic

Nottingham agrees undisclosed settlement after undergraduate cleared by fitness-to-practise panel 

French scholars, accused of fostering terrorism, fear escalating rhetoric could curtail freedom of research

As Australia’s Kylie Moore-Gilbert prepares to come home, UN human rights observers express grave fears for Iranian-Swedish academic

New education minister threatens to withdraw funding from universities following abortion law protests clash  

Wider reckoning expected after White House ally Scott Atlas urges uprising against governor

‘New versions of old pressures’ have emerged amid campus closures and budget cuts

UK’s chief scientific adviser for national security says threat to universities’ values is most significant risk

Survey finds one in five scholars self-censored their teaching when students from autocratic states were in their class

Academic says some safety requirements increase risk to researchers and encourages institutions to take flexible, academic-led approach

The silencing of a China expert turns into broader debate about academic freedom and foreign ties

But president Alexander Lukashenko has been forced to replace rectors, and some university managers have refused to expel students – suggesting regime control is not complete

‘Real action’ will come when the government changes the regulator’s standards, policy expert says

University denies impropriety, as faculty groups urge transparent review

Yoshihide Suga’s rejection of appointees to the Science Council of Japan may be opening shot in ‘symbolic war’, says professor 

New guidance suggests UK universities could introduce Chatham House rule for seminars to protect recruits from countries with repressive governments

Neoliberal administrators’ policing of institutional reputations and academic colleagues’ condemnation of dissenting voices on issues such as race and gender have led to claims that scholars are losing their ability to engage in free enquiry and open debate. But is academic freedom really the operative concept in the controversies that arise? John Ross probes a highly contested debate

Colleagues remain baffled at security bureau’s exclusion of Australian literature expert

Be more candid about the nature of your foreign collaborations and think about your own moral responsibilities, Australian parliamentarians warn universities