Scholars at Risk

Scholars at Risk (SAR) is a U.S.-based international network of academic institutions organized to support and defend the principles of academic freedom[1] and to defend the human rights of scholars around the world. Network membership includes over 400 higher education institutions in 39 countries.[2]

Scholars at Risk
NicknameSAR
FounderRobert Quinn
Founded atUniversity of Chicago
TypeINGO
Purposeto protect scholars and promote academic freedom
HeadquartersNew York University
Locations
Websitewww.scholarsatrisk.org

History

Scholars at Risk was founded during a Human Rights Program in the University of Chicago in 1999 where it launched with a large conference in June 2000. It has its headquarters in the Greenwich Village campus of New York University. Rob Quinn is the director of Scholars at Risk.[2]

Scholars at Risk receives the Anne Frank Award 2017 -director Rob Quinn

In 2001, Scholars at Risk joined with other international education and human rights organizations to launch the Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR)[3]. When NEAR disbanded SAR continued this work through its Academic Freedom Media Review, Scholars-in-Prison Project[4] and Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.[5]

In 2002, SAR partnered with the Institute of International Education which was then establishing IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund.[6] The Fund provides financial support to scholars facing grave threats so that they may escape dangerous conditions and continue their academic work in safety.[6]

In 2003, the network headquarters relocated from the University of Chicago to the New York City campus of New York University (NYU)[6]. In 2005, SAR and partners began organizing SAR ‘sections’ and ‘partner networks’ around the world, building a global community pledged to help scholars and promote academic freedom everywhere[7].

From 2007 to 2010, SAR led a series of workshops to provide a safe, open forum for academics and advocates from around the world to discuss the regional dimensions of academic freedom and the challenges faced, and to develop joint responses. These led to the development of an academic freedom curriculum and in 2011 to the Academic Freedom Advocacy Team, which researched protection for academic freedom under international human rights law[8].

In 2012, SAR launched the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project[5], through which volunteer researchers document attacks on higher education in specific countries or regions which are then published in a report. The first Free to Think report was published in 2015[9] and since then it has been published annually.[10][11]

In 2014, SAR formalized the Student Advocacy Seminar, an initiative through which faculty researchers help students develop research and advocacy skills while investigating attacks on higher education communities[12].

Activities

SAR's activities are organized under three main pillars: Protection, Advocacy and Learning.[2]

Protection

SAR arranges for positions of sanctuary at universities and colleges in the network for intellectuals fleeing persecution and violence. Scholars are referred to the network for assessment, referrals or transition assistance.[13]

Advocacy

Scholars at Risk advocates on behalf of academics, writers, artists, and other intellectuals who are threatened in their home countries. SAR organizes global campaigns to support imprisoned scholars and students[14]. It engages students in Student Advocacy Seminars and Legal Clinics to learn real-world research and advocacy skills. Adam Braver at Roger Williams University is the Coordinator of the Advocacy Seminars. In the US Student Advocacy Days are also organized.[15] SAR also conducts research with a network of volunteer researchers for the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.[5]

Academic Freedom Monitoring Project

The monitoring project collects data on defined attacks on higher education[5]. These are gathered by contributing researchers who report and analyze incidents, track down sources and witnesses and help to develop advocacy responses[16]. Every year the Free to Think report is published highlighting these incidents.[17]

Learning

SAR organizes various activities which support learning about academic freedom, such as an Annual Global Conference[18], faculty/researcher workshops, SAR Speaker series, research groups, workshops on promoting higher education values. SAR has recently created a MOOC called Dangerous Questions in collaboration with the University of Oslo.[19]

Some scholars who SAR has advocated or is advocating for

Structure

SAR's headquarters are in the United States. In 2018 a European office was opened in Ireland at Maynooth University.[20] SAR has sections in different countries which coordinate activities of SAR members in that country.[21]

SAR Sections

SAR has sections, that is groups of higher education institutions and associations that are officially organized on a national or regional level to coordinate their SAR activities.[21]

Section Year established
SAR Canada[22] 2012
SAR United States[23] 2018
SAR Norway[24] 2011
CARA-SAR UK Universities network[25]
SAR Ireland[26] 2009
SAR Sweden[27] 2016
SAR Switzerland[28] 2017
UAF-SAR Netherlands and Belgium[29]
SAR Germany[30] 2016
SAR Finland 2017
SAR Denmark[31] 2019
SAR Italy[32] 2019
SAR Slovakia[33] 2019

Affiliations and partnerships

Scholars at Risk maintains affiliations and partnerships with other associations and organizations with related objectives, including the UK-based CARA[34] and the UK Universities Network, Scholar Rescue Fund, Spain's Grupo 9 de Universidades, the Scholars at Risk Ireland Section of Universities Ireland Network, the Foundation for Refugee Students UAF in the Netherlands[35], the Philipp Schwartz initiative of the Humboldt Foundation[36].

See also

References
  1. Butler, Judith (2017-09-19). "Academic Freedom and the Critical Task of the University". Globalizations. 14 (6): 857–861. doi:10.1080/14747731.2017.1325168. ISSN 1474-7731.
  2. "Scholars at Risk | Protecting scholars and the freedom to think, question, and share ideas". Scholars at Risk. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  3. Cohen, David (2001-07-19). "Network to preserve academic freedom launched". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  4. "Scholars in Prison Project". Scholars at Risk. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  5. "Academic Freedom Monitoring Project Index". Scholars at Risk. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  6. Arenson, Karen W. (2002-09-11). "A Group Seeks to Rescue Endangered Scholars". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  7. Milton, Sansom,. Higher education and post-conflict recovery. Cham. ISBN 978-3-319-65349-5. OCLC 1015239716.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Quinn, Robert; Levine, Jesse (2014-11-17). "Intellectual-HRDs and claims for academic freedom under human rights law". The International Journal of Human Rights. 18 (7–8): 898–920. doi:10.1080/13642987.2014.976203. ISSN 1364-2987.
  9. "Free to Think: a Report of the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project". Scholars at Risk. 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  10. "Free to think : report of the Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Monitoring Project | ETICO - IIEP UNESCO | Platform on ethics and corruption in education". etico.iiep.unesco.org. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  11. Academic freedom : the global challenge. Ignatieff, Michael,, Roch, Stefan,. Budapest. ISBN 978-963-386-234-6. OCLC 1019844737.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. Refugees and asylum seekers : interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives. Berthold, S. Megan (Sarah Megan),, Libal, Kathryn, 1968-, Mollica, Richard F.,. Santa Barbara, California. p. 342. ISBN 978-1-4408-5496-5. OCLC 1103221731.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. "A Safe Haven for Scholars at Risk | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  14. "Scholars in Prison Project". Scholars at Risk. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  15. "Students and faculty convene in DC to advocate on behalf of imprisoned scholars at SAR's Student Advocacy Days". uhrp.org. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  16. "Academic Freedom Monitoring Project Index". Scholars at Risk. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  17. Abbott, Alison (2019-11-21). "Attacks on scholars worldwide raise concern". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-03582-5.
  18. "SAR 2020 Global Congress". Scholars at Risk. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  19. FutureLearn. "Dangerous Questions: Why Academic Freedom Matters - Online Course". FutureLearn. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  20. Editor, Carl O'Brien Education. "European alliance for academics at risk to be based out of Maynooth University". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-05-23.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  21. "SAR Sections". Scholars at Risk. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  22. "SAR-Canada". Scholars at Risk. 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  23. "Why Scholars at Risk has opened a US section". Times Higher Education (THE). 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  24. "SAR-Norway". Scholars at Risk. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  25. "Cara". www.cara.ngo. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  26. "SAR-Ireland". Scholars at Risk. 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  27. "SAR-Sweden". Scholars at Risk. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  28. "SAR Switzerland". Scholars at Risk. 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  29. "Home - UAF". www.uaf.nl. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  30. "SAR Germany". www.humboldt-foundation.de. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  31. "SAR Denmark". Scholars at Risk. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  32. "SAR Italy". Scholars at Risk. 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  33. "SAR". Policy is our passion. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  34. MacLeod, Donald (2006-03-21). "Welcome players". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  35. "The Foundation for Refugee Students UAF - NIAS Co-sponsors". NIAS. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  36. "Philipp Schwartz Initiative of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation". www.humboldt-foundation.de. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
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