Dr. Hans-Joerg Tiede: Academic Freedom in the Age of Trump

Dr. Hans-Joerg Tiede Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure & Governance, AAUP will speak at the Nyselius Library Multimedia Room. Please join us for a wine & cheese reception at 3:30 PM, followed by Dr. Tiede's talk. Today's political climate has become increasingly inimical to academic freedom. Over the course of the last two years, the academic community has witnessed legislative and gubernatorial attacks on individual faculty members, course offerings, governing boards, the institution of tenure, and, generally, the institutional autonomy of colleges and universities— the most recent example being President Trump’s executive order on campus free speech. Conservative advocacy groups are calling for the enforcement of “viewpoint diversity” at institutions of higher education. Websites such as Professor Watchlist are monitoring activities of faculty members and denouncing departures from what they view as acceptable, which, in turn, is often followed by campaigns of targeted harassment of faculty members. This presentation provides an analysis of current challenges to academic freedom from the perspective of AAUP policy. Sponsored by the Faculty Welfare Committee, your AAUP chapter.