Academic Freedom

Christians, Gays And Academic Freedom

David Moshman | Posted 12.23.2011 | College

Read More: Counseling, Academic Freedom, Christians, First Amendment, Gay Rights, Religious Liberty, Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley, College News

The decision of a federal circuit court in Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley is not about either Christians or gays. It's a victory for academic freedom and professional ethics, which are fully consistent with both religious liberty and gay rights.

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Occupying Academic Freedom

Patricia McGuire | Posted 11.23.2011 | DC

Read More: Higher Education Reform, Academic Freedom, Higher Education, Uc Davis Pepper Spray, College Activism, Academic Freedom of Speech, Uc Davis Protests, Occupy Uc Davis, DC News

Higher education is in trouble right now --- and it's not just because of the scandal at Penn State. The real trouble that higher education is in goes to the soul of our existence as institutions supposedly dedicated to the free search for truth.

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Canadian Evangelical School Cancels George W. Bush Visit

Will Braun | Posted 12.13.2011 | Religion

Read More: Freedom of Speech, Academic Freedom, Christianity, George W. Bush, George Bush, Religion and Politics, Tyndale University College, George Bush Tyndale University College, George Bush Tyndale University Visit, Religion News

After news leaked that Tyndale University College in Toronto was planning an invitation-only fund-raising breakfast with George W. Bush, it only took two days for the Sept. 20 event to be canceled.

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Is Constitution Day Unconstitutional?

Lyle Denniston | Posted 11.20.2011 | Politics

Read More: Constitution Day, Supreme Court, Elana Kagan, Academic Freedom, Constitution, Politics News

The academic debate over what constitutes an "unconstitutional condition" very likely will continue, and Constitution Day perhaps could serve as a debating topic to mark the day.

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The Legacy of 9/11 and the War on Intellectuals

Stephen Zunes | Posted 11.11.2011 | World

Read More: Bush Administration, Terrorism, 9/11 Anniversary, 9/11, Academic Freedom, Campus Watch, War on Terrorism, Al Qaeda, World News

Ten years after 9/11, for the first time, a plurality of Americans recognizes that US policy in the Middle East played a major role in the attacks. It was not, as George W. Bush famously put it, simply because, "They hate our freedom."

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Students Need Teachers With Tenure

David Moshman | Posted 10.31.2011 | Education

Read More: Academic Freedom, Student Rights, Teacher Tenure, Education News

In principle, all teachers should have academic freedom regardless of tenure status. But in the real world of education, the exercise of such freedom depends in large part on tenure. Thus students need teachers with tenure.

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"Katrina" Plus Six

Harry Shearer | Posted 10.28.2011 | Green

Read More: Katrina, New Orleans, Academic Freedom, Levees, Army Corps of Engineers, Chernobyl, Hurricane Katrina, Green News

What most people think they know is that, post-Katrina, "the levees have been fixed." And that could be said to be true. To get Clintonian for a moment, it all depends on what your definition of "fixed" is.

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Black Women Are Not (Rated) Less Attractive!: Independent Analysis of the Add Health Dataset

Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D. | Posted 07.23.2011 | Style

Read More: Black Women, Scott Barry Kaufman, Attractiveness, Representative Sample, Lse Spokesman, London School of Economics, Ethnicity, Add Health, Adolescents, Adulthood, Native American Women, Academic Freedom, Psychology Today, Race, Internal Investigation, Jelte Wicherts, Student Organization, African American Women, Firestorm, Controversial Conclusions, Evolutionary Psychology, Outrage, Empirical Findings, Satoshi Kanazawa, Psychologist, Style News

The low convergence of ratings finding suggests that in this very large and representative dataset, beauty is mostly in the eye of the beholder. What we are looking at here are simple ratings of attractiveness by interviewers whose tastes differ rather strongly.

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When Academic Administrators Lose Their Moral Compass

Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D. | Posted 07.10.2011 | College

Read More: Freedom of Speech, Butler University, Reporters Without Borders, Aaup, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Academic Freedom, Bill Watts, Slapp, Aclu, Fire, American Association of University Professors, College News

Bill Watts, associate professor of English at Butler University, has just published a compelling and cautionary account of what can happen when univer...

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Free Speech, Academic Freedom, and First Amendment Rights of College Faculty

David Moshman | Posted 06.18.2011 | College

Read More: Freedom of Speech, First Amendment, Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, Faculty, Aaup, College News, Free Speech, Freedom of Expression, Academic Freedom, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Free Expression, Alliance Defense Fund, Intellectual Freedom, College News

We should not be lulled into complacency about the state of academic freedom. At the academic core of teaching and research, intellectual freedom is no longer protected by the First Amendment.

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Did Arizona Ban Ethnic Studies? Not Exactly

David Moshman | Posted 05.25.2011 | Education

Read More: Ethnic Studies, History, Education, Mexican-Americans, Academic Freedom, Indoctrination, Arizona, Intellectual Freedom, Censorship, African Americans, Culture, Education News

Although legislatures have a legitimate role in providing for student access, academic integrity and intellectual freedom in public schools, they have no business telling teachers what to teach.

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ROTC, WikiLeaks, and Academic Freedom

Stephen Zunes | Posted 05.25.2011 | College

Read More: Rotc, Civil Liberties, University of San Francisco, Academic Freedom, Wikileaks, College News

If we can prohibit ROTC cadets from reading material from WikiLeaks, what would stop us from prohibiting students from, for example, reading material critical of U.S. military actions in Iraq or Vietnam?

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Academic Freedom and Indoctrination

David Moshman | Posted 05.25.2011 | Education

Read More: Penn State, David Horowitz, Student Rights, Cary Nelson, Aaup, Stanley Fish, National Association of Scholars, Inside Higher Ed, Academic Freedom, Indoctrination, Education News

We all support essentially the same principles of academic freedom, including respect for the authority of faculty over the curriculum and respect for the right of students not to be indoctrinated.

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The Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska

David Moshman | Posted 05.25.2011 | Education

Read More: Aclu, Student Press Law Center, Ncte, Aaup, National Council of Teachers of English, Nebraska English Language Arts Council, Afcon, Academic Freedom, Nebraska, Censorship, Education News

Every state should have an academic freedom coalition. It just takes someone to get it going. It could be you.

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Academic Freedom is Not Protected by the First Amendment

David Moshman | Posted 05.25.2011 | Education

Read More: Supreme Court, Academic Freedom, First Amendment, K-12 Education, US Education, Education News

We should be clear from the start that academic freedom is not simply a First Amendment right. Academic freedom is intellectual freedom in academic contexts.

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Academic Freedom in High School and Kindergarten

David Moshman | Posted 05.25.2011 | Education

Read More: High School, Academic Freedom, Student Rights, Intellectual Freedom, Children's Rights, Texas State Board of Education, Kindergarten, Education News

Perhaps we can't run a kindergarten like a college, but we can provide students of all ages with a curriculum determined by teachers and other experts on academic grounds and encourage them to figure things out.

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Academic Freedom: Not Just for College Professors

David Moshman | Posted 05.25.2011 | Education

Read More: Academic Freedom, Student Rights, Intellectual Freedom, Aaup, Professors, Tenure, Education News

Teachers should have intellectual freedom because such freedom enhances the quality of education and research, thus serving the common good.

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Liberty and Learning: Academic Freedom as Intellectual Freedom

David Moshman | Posted 05.25.2011 | Education

Read More: Academic Freedom, Liberty, First Amendment, Indoctrination, Intellectual Freedom, Aaup, Learning, Education News

The aim of this new blog is to explain and promote academic freedom, which provides schools with academic integrity, maximizes the quality of education and research, and protects students from indoctrination.

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Outing Campus Censors in U.S. News & World Report

Greg Lukianoff | Posted 05.25.2011 | College

Read More: Tufts University, Red Alert, First Amendment, Michigan State University, Speech Codes, Binghamton, Bucknell University, Johns Hopkins University, Best Colleges, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, US News & World Report, Academic Freedom, Colorado College, Fire, Greg Lukianoff, College News

In this age of campus obsession with sensitivity above all else, some may think that criticizing a university professor could rightfully land a student in hot water. But colleges and universities must not insulate themselves from serious controversy.

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"Is Campus Censorship the New Normal?" in Free Inquiry Magazine

Greg Lukianoff | Posted 05.25.2011 | College

Read More: Free Inquiry, Academic Freedom, Atheists, Censorship, Free Speech, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Wendy Kaminer, Greg Lukianoff, Will Creeley, Ucsf, Tufts University, Religion, Ucsb, Middle East, Yale University, Porn, Fire, College News

We need to be teaching students to not only to tolerate speech they don't like, but also to jump into debates and encourage discussion of different points of view.

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U Of I Reviewing Firing Of Lecturer Who Said Homosexuality Was 'Morally Wrong'

Posted 05.25.2011 | Chicago

Read More: Gay Rights, Catholic Church, University of Illinois, Kenneth Howell, Homophobia, Academic Freedom, Alliance Defense Fund, Catholocism, Kenneth Howell Firing, Catholic Church Gays, Homophobe, Chicago News

The University of Illinois is now reviewing their firing of a professor who was removed after telling his class why the Catholic church believes that ...

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California Prof In Hot Water For Anti-Gay Remarks

The Rampage | Posted 05.25.2011 | College

Read More: Aclu, Anti-Gay Remarks, Brad Lopez, Academic Freedom, Jacqueline Mahaffey, Jay Matthews, Fresno City College, Hostile Learning Environment, State Center Community College District, The West, College News

Fresno City College authorities found that Dr. Brad Lopez, a health instructor, "engaged in conduct that could result in the creation of a hostile lea...

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Sex, Fruit Bats, and Politically Correct Zoology at an Irish College

Greg Lukianoff | Posted 05.25.2011 | College

Read More: University, Fruit Bats, University College Cork, Free Speech, Oral Sex, Academic Freedom, Ireland, Political Correctness, Censorship, Greg Lukianoff, College News

Author's Note: This case has set off quite an international debate, both for and against Dr. Evans. As I linked to below in the updates, you can check...

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I Am Professor Khalidi (Why John McCain Doesn't Get to Pick My Halloween Costume)

David Quigg | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Read More: Palestine, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, John McCain, Columbia University, Barack Obama, Xenophobia, Negative Attacks, Smears, Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, Academic Freedom, Israel, Rashid Khalidi, Politics News

Khalidi is a big-time professor. Which is to say that, until quite recently, he was someone most of us had never heard of. But then John McCain picked Professor Khalidi's new Halloween costume.

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University Of Illinois Political Ban May Extend To Students

Chicago Tribune | Megan Twohey | Posted 05.25.2011 | Chicago

Read More: U of I Ethics Rules, Campus Free Speech, U of I Barack Obama Rally, U of I Politics Ban, Unviersity of Illinois, Academic Freedom, Dan Colson, Barack Obama, Chicago News

Students and professors at the University of Illinois decided to rally for Barack Obama on the Urbana-Champaign campus Thursday to make clear their st...

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