Finally! Today, we are in a position to finish our survey of the responsibilities that, according to various bodies, attach to academic freedom. So far (check out the last few posts), we’ve looked at UNESCO, AAUP, AUCC and CAUT. Today, we’ll finish by seeing what my own employer, University of Waterloo, says. Then, we’ll summarize … Continue reading The Responsibilities That Attach to Academic Freedom — Part 5 (Conclusion) →

It’s Monday – time to resume our project of summarizing the main elements of academic freedom policies at UNESCO, AAUP, AUCC, CAUT and University of Waterloo. (New readers might be wondering why I include University of Waterloo on this list. It’s simple: I work there!) We started by looking at at the source/purpose of academic … Continue reading The Responsibilities That Attach to Academic Freedom — Part 4 →

Sometimes, the universe betrays a certain sense of humour. This week on this blog, I’m trying to break down the responsibilities that attach to academic freedom, according to UNESCO, AAUP, AUCC, CAUT and the University of Waterloo. Alas, my other professional responsibilities keep getting in the way. So, Tuesday’s post was truncated, and I missed … Continue reading The Responsibilities That Attach to Academic Freedom — Part 2 →

Last week, Daily Academic Freedom began the work of comparing what UNESCO, AAUP, AUCC, and CAUT, and the University of Waterloo each have to say about various aspects of academic freedom. On Thursday, we summarized their respective characterizations of the source and purpose of academic freedom. Friday, we listed which individual rights and freedoms each body recognizes as falling under the broader … Continue reading The Responsibilities That Attach to Academic Freedom — Part 1. →

Over the last few days, we’ve been slowly chugging along, looking at the responsibilities that attach to academic freedom, according to UNESCO, AAUP, AUCC, CAUT and University of Waterloo. So far, we’ve looked at UNESCO and AAUP. I have scant time today, but don’t want to lose momentum, so for now I’ll just paste below … Continue reading The Resposibilities That Attach to Academic Freedom — Part 3 →

I received a message from an individual who, choosing to remain anonymous, writes: I teach in a cohort-based university program where ‘academic freedom’ is invoked as a cautionary against providing information and recommendations on what and how to teach in this program. While I take the initiative to communicate with other faculty members who are … Continue reading Academic Freedom & Course/Program Design →

In 2015, Western University was in the news because of a controversy over its president, Amit Chakma, double-dipping his salary. That controversy eventuated in a confidence vote for Chakma and Board Chair Chirag Shah at Western’s senate. While both Chakma and Shah survived the vote, Shah resigned at the end of the year. The whole … Continue reading Lessons From Western: Improving Collegial Governance Requires Cultural Change →

I’m hoping that the combination of lawsuits will be enough to convince careless university professors and administrators blinded by their own ideology to be much more circumspect in their actions and their words. (YouTube/Jordan B. Peterson via https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/1260509251890/) *** The news broke yesterday that University of Toronto Psychology Professor Jordan B. Peterson is suing Wilfrid … Continue reading Peterson, Laurier, and the Chilling Effect of Litigation →

I’m swamped with other work right now and daily blogging is a heck of a grind. But I’m trying to keep posting a few words each day even when I’m super busy just to stay in the habit. For today’s quick, brief post, I thought I’d let you know about the longer posts I plan … Continue reading What’s Next For Daily Academic Freedom? →

What rights does academic freedom afford scholars when they are in the town square? I recently published two posts here that sought to clarify the relationship between academic freedom and no-platforming. Together, they led to the complex position that academic freedom sometimes supports no-platforming, but that sometimes no-platforming violates academic freedom. Over the course of … Continue reading Academic Freedom and the Public →