Academic freedom

Home institution of right-wing provocateur sees little room under tenure constraints

Indian scholar explains why she thinks guidelines on ensuring PhDs focus on ‘national priorities’ are dangerous and wrong

But union says codifying free speech principles would backfire

Edict reveals limited levers available to US president

University insists resolution will not affect plans for ‘Western civilisation’ course

The Open University cancels prison reform conference after pressure from militant feminist groups over organiser’s advice on transgender prisoners

Threatened university says it needs ‘definitive legal certainty’ over its future

As universities become ever more wary of negative publicity, leaders who speak out on contentious issues are increasingly finding themselves in hot water. Ellie Bothwell reports

Geoffrey Stone says students’ successful efforts to persuade him not to use racial slur are a good example of free speech

Western universities warned against establishing outposts after minister announces eight international institutions will be built by 2020

US president’s vow to tie research funds to unfettered campus debate is short on details and advocates

ARC insists allegations of political subversion are ‘baseless’

Governing body neglecting its responsibilities, says union branch president and former senate member

Community attitudes questionnaire also finds that Australians want caps on international students but not domestic students

The recent exodus of vice-chancellors from UK universities raises questions over what is going on in the sector. Is inadequate governance the root cause?

Archive of tweets linked to St Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency reveals scale of disinformation attempts around free speech and ‘left bias’ controversies

Conservative Party Human Rights Commission calls for investigation into whether Communist-supported centres are being used to intimidate students or restrict freedom of expression

Academics highlight brain drain of researchers and loss of international research partners as concerns in wake of latest government ‘attack on autonomy’

Rebekah Tromble and Patricia Rossini feared for their safety when the conservative online world turned against them last summer

Australian university releases details of curriculum for philanthropically funded degree

Academics have been urged to mention China’s persecution of Muslim minorities at every public event in which they participate

Officers draw on expertise from around the world as they deal with protests, extremist speakers and hate crimes

Ramsay Centre proposal ‘crosses red lines’, says union

The case of Phillip Adamo, an academic at Augsburg University, provokes debate about the taboos of discussing literature

Scholar warns that rising numbers of international university staff in Singapore could ‘make the academy more conservative’

Automatic green cards for international PhD graduates at US universities could restore America’s ‘competitive advantage’, says Robert Zimmer

Amid strident debates, undergraduate attitudes reflect expert appeal for case-by-case considerations

Universities and scholars told to establish ‘the boundaries of acceptable speech’ as staff report meetings with managers over online activities

Birzeit University in the West Bank has had to become versatile and agile in the face of adversity, according to its vice-president

The advent of Plan S promises to turbocharge the open access movement, but amid pushback from researchers and publishers, Rachael Pells examines whether the demand for published research truly merits the disruption

Academics issue warning after news story including critical comments about country’s top universities is removed

Ramsay partnership provides ‘a unique opportunity and substantial uplift in funding’, university leadership says

Scholars cite concerns over academic autonomy in Taiwan after election of National Taiwan University president is finally approved

It’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t, as minister seeks course for freedom

Funding agency forced to deny scholarship candidates will be required to take an ideology test

Chicago State University ends dispute with academics who criticised institutional leadership

Cambridge University Press is latest firm to reveal that some of its titles have been blocked by the state

Scholars say Moon Jae-in administration is continuing tradition of replacing presidents appointed under previous government

When universities accept donations from entities with particular ideological stances, are they sacrificing academic freedom on the altar of Mammon?

In Germany, Brazil and Hungary, students are being encouraged to film ‘biased’ professors, mirroring far-right tactics in US

Dollars, not diktats, now seen as biggest risk to institutional autonomy in special administrative region

A ban on political advocacy and remedial action for possession of ‘radical concepts’ could undermine the special administrative region’s universities, says Michael O’Sullivan

Invitation of two far-right speakers to the University of Siegen has prompted protests and counter-claims of censorship

Staff, council and senate at Wollongong ‘did not know talks were under way’

Managers’ first reaction is usually to ‘look at the bottom line’, but ‘they’re just usually not as crass and as crude as this’

Andrew Potter case reflects broader trend of universities valuing reputation over scholarly freedom, say academics

Maintaining a breadth of curricular offerings is crucial if subjects outside the sciences are to retain their attraction in the digital age, says Dean Forbes

Concocted claims reflect an American ‘preoccupation’, says former Melbourne vice-chancellor

Joan Wallach Scott warns of a ‘vision of the world in which men are superior to women’ in final protest against CEU expulsion from Hungary

Budapest-based institution confirms all new students will be enrolled in Vienna from next year

Judgement is hard, but limits are appropriate if they ensure the quality of academic engagement with complex, competing ideas, says Sandro Galea

Australia’s twice-unlucky research grant applicants raise questions about the assessment process, but they could help elevate science as an election issue, says John Ross

Doctoral student at was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges

Universities minister Sam Gyimah says student exchanges should continue, despite UAE’s jailing of Matthew Hedges

A Twitter storm over a remark he made on diversity policy reminds Jeffrey Flier why he was so wary of speaking out while a Harvard dean

Matthew Hedges, a PhD student specialising in Middle Eastern politics, was detained at Dubai airport on 5 May and held in solitary confinement

Scholars allowed back to work might not be able not return to previous institutions or large cities, Science Academy warns

Cairo institution hit hard by loss of foreign students, says president

Academics claim Chinese government ‘has taken significantly more control’ over universities

While universities warn of ‘heavy-handed external regulation’, choice of reviewer is unlikely to raise objections