In Australia and New Zealand, university leaders have called on their institutions to promote more open-minded and constructive debates, to help societies respond to complex challenges in a more enlightened way. University of Auckland vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater writes that campus communities should be exemplars where scholars speak bravely and freely and with respect. At the…
Diary of an Academic Infidel – Chapter 24
"Since all this has unfolded over a period of months, you'll appreciate that I've found it frustrating..." By the end of September, I'd been able to extract who in fact was behind the Journal decision. And to decode a few earlier evasions and undeclared backflips. In sum, the owners too had concerns about the article, after all;…
Book review: Open Minds (and the French Review connection)
Launched in March, Open Minds is a timely book for Australian university leaders and higher education policy makers. It has had thoughtful reviews from Peter Tregear and Andrew Norton. Law professors Adrienne Stone and Carolyn Evans (the latter is vice-chancellor at Griffith University) bring context and clarity to the uses and limits of academic freedom…
Big Little Thought Crimes in Melbourne 