Academic Freedom Forum and Resources
3/26/2021
Dear FSU Members,
On March 24th, the FSU hosted a Forum on Academic Freedom which you can watch here. It was a powerful and educational discussion hosted by Professor Heike Schotten about how faculty become the target of extreme right-wing attacks, and what we as a union and university can do to protect our faculty. We heard from three UMB faculty – Leila Farsakh, Andrew Leong, and Ester Shapiro -- who have been targeted for their academic work, statements in the classroom, or both. We also heard from Isaac Kamola, a professor of Political Science who has been researching the dark money networks that fund these right-wing attacks and how universities have and/or should respond. The FSU urges everyone to watch the Forum. In addition, below are some useful resources on the subject.
Steve Striffler
FSU President
Resources:
"Dear Administrators: To Protect Your Faculty from Right-Wing Attacks, Follow the Money"
https://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/kamola.pdf
What is Campus Reform?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18Rj9_JFcPxTsuAkRUyroeprtT813nZO7zT_E5-fsTdk/edit?usp=sharing
How Might You Respond to a Campus Reform Story?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1auR8boMOtKp8RaEAXlZTkhz2ArhlQyPPO4a6G9Ycbys/edit?usp=sharing
How Should Administrators Respond to a Campus Reform Story?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pBs7fxjaAazaqiLH9I_A5qMpzTrQ16djegD4Y82224M/edit?usp=sharing