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MESA’s Academic Freedom Initiative will support data collection and analysis as well as dissemination of findings regarding academic freedom in the context of scholarship and teaching in Middle East studies.
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Provost of Wake Forest University in response to our 30 September letter regarding the decision to cancel a scheduled lecture by Professor Rabab Abdelhadi
Our letter expressing concern over the decision of the Michigan State University administration to cancel the public opening event for “Diasporic Collage: Puerto Rico and the Survival of a People,” and then to impose a significant change to the exhibit itself
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the President Muhlenberg College in response to our 26 September letter regarding Dr. Maura Finkelstein.
Our letter expressing concern about Wake Forest University’s decision to cancel a scheduled lecture by Professor Rabab Abdelhadi, who is currently director of San Francisco State University’s Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative.
Our letter expressing concern about the decision to temporarily suspend Cornell graduate student Momodou Taal, without proper due process, on the grounds of his alleged disruptive participation in a pro-Palestine campus protest.
Our letter expressing concern about the announcement by Muhlenberg College that it intends to terminate Dr. Maura Finkelstein, a tenured member of the college’s faculty, because of an Instagram post that she had reposted.
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the President and Provost of NYU in response to our 30 August letter regarding the updated Guidance and Expectations for Student Conduct.
Our letter expressing concern about the updated Guidance and Expectations for Student Conduct which the administration of New York University (NYU) circulated to the university community on 22 August 2024.
Our letter expressing concern about the apparent cooperation of the University of Pennsylvania with the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce investigations of faculty members.
Our letter expressing concern about Senate Bill 1287, which threatens the constitutionally protected right of students at California’s public universities and colleges to freedom of speech and assembly
Our letter expressing grave concern about recent measures announced by the State University System of Florida that will police and censor teaching about Israel, Palestine, the Middle East and related topics at the state’s public universities and colleges.
Our letter to the Rector of Bogazici University in Turkey, responding to his letter in response to our original letter of protest, dated 10 April 2024.
Letter protesting a bill proposed by the National Union of Israeli Students that stipulates that academic institutions in Israel are obliged to terminate faculty, lecturers and researchers who express criticism of Israel government policies and practices. The letter condemns, as well, a billboard smear campaign conducted to promote the proposed bill.
Our letter expressing concern about the decision to rescind the offer which the University of Minnesota made to Dr. Raz Segal to assume the directorship of its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Our letter expressing concern about reports we have received that students and faculty at NYU Abu Dhabi have been subjected to repressive measures (including deportation) by UAE authorities for expressing their opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza while on campus.
Our letter expressing concern at the decision of the San José State University (SJSU) administration to suspend Professor Sang Hea Kil of the Department of Justice Studies from all faculty duties.
Our letter expressing concern over the administration’s recent actions with respect to the peaceful student encampment at the University of Texas Dallas (UT Dallas) in support of Palestinian rights
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from Professor Naci Inci, President of Boğaziçi University, to our 10 April letter regarding ongoing violations at Boğaziçi University
Our letter expressing shock and revulsion at the brutalization of Professor Steve Tamari by police as he peacefully participated in a protest for Palestinian rights on the Washington University in St. Louis campus as well as our concern over the suspension of six of your faculty members for alleged participation in the same protest and the arrest and suspension of many of your students
Our letter expressing concern at on-going efforts by the Committee on Education and the Workforce to interfere with and radically reshape higher education across the country.
Our letter expressing grave concern at the decision of the administration of Indiana University (IU) to ban Professor David McDonald from campus following his arrest while trying to protect his students who were participating in a peaceful demonstration.
Our letter to the leadership of Hebrew University of Jerusalem and co-signed with the Association for Middle East Women's Studies vehemently protesting the persecution of Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, and specifically, her recent arrest and the investigations into her opinions and academic work.
Our letter expressing concern about H.R. 6090, which the House of Representatives passed on 1 May 2024 and which the Senate will soon consider.
CAF welcomes the recent news that Israel has released Palestinian astrophysicist Imad Barghouti.