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Dispatches on academic freedom

BY SHANNON DEA | SEP 20 2022

What the university could have done better to protect academic freedom after a professor’s controversial tweet went viral.

BY SHANNON DEA | MAY 30 2022

While my own academic freedom is less robust since becoming a senior administrator, I have loved finding new ways of defending academic freedom for others.

BY SHANNON DEA | DEC 16 2021

Ultimately, the three best defences are good policies, good communication and good habits.

BY SHANNON DEA | SEP 15 2021

Even when it doesn’t improperly interfere in academic searches and tenure files, some kinds of donor funding routinely threaten academic freedom in a range of ways.

BY SHANNON DEA | APR 16 2021

Academic staff are not only employees; they are also the ‘collegium’ charged with the academic governance of universities.

BY SHANNON DEA | FEB 08 2021

When we invoke academic freedom as a way of defending our own peccadillos, we render universities into petty fiefdoms and academic freedom into a bludgeon.

BY SHANNON DEA | DEC 15 2020

An examination of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism.

BY SHANNON DEA | OCT 30 2020

What ever happened to students’ academic freedom?

BY SHANNON DEA | SEP 14 2020

It is an adjustment when an academic becomes a senior administrator, as they don’t have the same academic freedoms they did as professors.

BY SHANNON DEA | AUG 21 2020

Just because professors may say the N-word doesn’t mean they should.

BY SHANNON DEA | MAY 21 2020

A recent case that has rocked the Canadian varsity running world raises questions about which university personnel should have academic freedom.

BY SHANNON DEA | APR 14 2020

Is this thing on?

BY SHANNON DEA | MAR 13 2020

As universities respond to COVID-19, they must be guided by their core values of social responsibility, accountability and equitable access – all of which support suspending on-campus teaching and learning.

BY SHANNON DEA | JAN 30 2020

Surprise Alberta court decision released just days into the new year could have a huge impact on universities.

BY SHANNON DEA | OCT 17 2019

Two recent cases from the U.S. throw into sharp relief just how critical institutional autonomy is for academic freedom.

BY SHANNON DEA | SEP 03 2019

Academic freedom is not merely a negotiated perk of being a professor, it is a sine qua non of the university’s mission.

BY SHANNON DEA | AUG 02 2019

Issues around gender identity, and transgender and nonbinary people have become a battleground for academic freedom and freedom of expression on campus.

BY SHANNON DEA | JUN 07 2019

If no one listens, no ideas are exchanged. And to listen, one must be quiet.

BY SHANNON DEA | MAY 03 2019

To defend the values at the heart of the university, we must first understand them. Here’s a resource that can help.

BY SHANNON DEA | MAR 22 2019

A dissection of three talks presented at the recent Harry Crowe conference in Toronto.

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