Statement Academic Freedom of Programme for Directors of Education

During the concluding meeting of the Programme for Directors of Education, on 20 November 2019, the central theme of the conversation was academic freedom. Among other things, it dealt with how our university relates to the trend of creating 'safe spaces', with 'trigger warnings' and 'de-platforming'.

During the meeting, participants spoke via Skype with John Ellison of the University of Chicago about their position and practices in this subject. The outcome of this discussion is a statement of the participants in the programme on Academic Freedom. The publication of the rector's column in the DUB the day after this meeting fitted in wonderfully well with this discussion. The Directors of Education and the programme counsellors, Harold van Rijen and Wieger Bakker, sincerely hope that this statement will contribute to the dialogue between Directors of Education, to the discussion within the broader UU community of staff and students, and to the public positioning of the UU, both nationally and internationally. 

The statement can be read here.