FSU Forum – Academic Freedom – March 24th

3/3/2021

Are you worried about saying “the wrong thing” in the classroom? Concerned that your academic freedom may not be guaranteed when it comes to your research findings or social media presence? Why does there seem to be a sudden flurry of high-profile incidents of faculty being singled out and targeted for improper or incendiary speech, whether in the classroom, their research, or their Twitter remarks?

In this Forum, we will hear from UMB faculty who have been publicly targeted for their speech in the classroom and/or in their research. We will also learn why these attacks on faculty are happening -- and collectively discuss what we and our administration can do to protect ourselves from them. Facilitated by Heike Schotten, this Forum will feature testimonials from three UMB faculty whose academic freedom has been targeted by outside groups: Leila Farsakh, Andrew Leong, and Ester Shapiro. We will also be joined by Prof. Isaac Kamola of Trinity College, who will explain the dark money network funding these attacks and the long-game being played by this network to undermine and eliminate public higher education. Professor Kamola writes broadly on the political economy of higher education and is the author of this important article about right-wing attacks on academics.

Please contact the FSU for registration information (the Forum will take place Wednesday, March 24th, 4-5:30).

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.