Category: Alliance for Academic Freedom

US Dept. of Ed. Threatens Academic Freedom at Duke-UNC

The Alliance for Academic Freedom remains concerned about the chilling effect on academic freedom of the letter that the U.S. Department of Education sent to the Duke-University of North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies on August 29 and about the nature of the Consortium’s programming.

Let Omar Barghouti Into US

The following statement is a reaction to the news that the United States is denying a visa to Omar Barghouti, the founder of the BDS movement, who

Open Letter to University of Cape Town

From: Prof. Cary Nelson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and AAF Chair  To: Mamokgethi Phakeng (Vice Chancellor), Sipho Pityana (Chair of Council), and other members of the

Pitzer College Faculty’s Assault on Academic Freedom

The Executive Committee of the Alliance for Academic Freedom (AAF) condemns the vote by Pitzer College faculty and students to urge cancellation of the college’s study abroad program at Haifa University. We applaud president Marvin Oliver’s forthright decision to preserve this educational opportunity for Pitzer students.

ERODING ACADEMIC FREEDOM

The movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel on college campuses has on the whole seen relatively little success in the past two years. Colleges and universities have generally remained strong in defense of protecting the academic freedom of students and faculty who wish to work or study in Israel, collaborate with Israeli scholars, or otherwise interact freely with the rich academic resources that Israel has to offer.

Let Lara Alqasem Study in Israel 

We the undersigned faculty members of the Alliance for Academic Freedom (AAF) stand in solidarity with the presidents of all Israeli universities in urging the Israeli authorities to permit the American student Lara Alqasem to enter the country to pursue her studies at Hebrew University. We join with the many faculty members and organizations throughout the US that have endorsed her right to study at any university to which she gains admission. As a last resort, we urge the Israeli Supreme Court to intervene and reverse the government’s decision.

Minister Compromises Academic Freedom

The executive committee of the Alliance for Academic Freedom views with deep concern the recent decision by Israeli Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis to block the appointment of the accomplished Israeli brain researcher Prof. Yael Amitai to an Israeli-German scientific committee. We believe this decision politicizes the work of a fundamentally academic and non-political international committee. We urge that the decision be reversed.

Support New Head of Center for Jewish History

From the Executive Committee of the Alliance for Academic Freedom: David Greenberg, Rebecca Lesses, Jeffry Mallow, Deborah Dash Moore, Cary Nelson (Chair), Sharon Musher, Kenneth

AAF Statement on Controversy at Dartmouth

What follows is an abridged version of a statement written for the “Inside Higher Ed” website by eight members of the Alliance for Academic Freedom — David Greenberg, Rebecca Lesses,