SAR in the Press

The following includes select interviews, articles, and op-eds by or about Scholars at Risk and its network.

Tufts Offers Haven for Scholars at Risk

Tufts Offers Haven for Scholars at Risk | March 1, 2023 — Tufts has hosted international academics in peril before. But the university had never supported four such scholars at once—until this year. […] That didn’t mean solely funding more fellows.

“UC campuses rallied to host at-risk Afghan scholars fleeing the Taliban in 2021 — but can they keep them?”

February 17th, 2023 — Read how the University of California (UC) system is coordinating efforts across institutions to support at-risk scholars: In the wake of the Taliban’s recapture of the capital city Kabul, a contingent of University of California faculty

Scholars at Risk Seminar Gives Students the Chance to Fight Erosion of Academic Freedom

February 13, 2023 — Read about student & faculty experiences participating in SAR Student Advocacy Seminars: “This class was a great opportunity to learn more about how we can advocate for human rights and these scholars,” William Moody ’24, Muhlenberg

Yale expands efforts to protect scholars at risk

February 7, 2023 — Yale is expanding its Scholars at Risk program, which welcomes scholars facing dangerous conditions worldwide to campus so they can continue their work. “In a demonstration of its commitment to academic freedom, Yale will enhance and

What’s happening in Iran? – Podcast with the European Association for International Education

January 2023 — SAR Senior Program Officer Daniel Munier and scholar Encieh Erfani, who resigned from her academic post at an Iranian university in September in protest, share their insights on EAIE’s podcast. “On 16 September 2022, Mahsa Amini died

The Scholars at Risk network protects researchers from harassment and violence

Jan 12, 2023 — A piece by Mervi Rantanen for Aalto University describes the work of Scholars at Risk in Finland. “Aalto University contributes to global social responsibility by being part of the international Scholars at Risk network, which promotes

New calls to expand Afghan scholarships

There should be an immediate expansion of international scholarships for Afghans, a leading academic rights organisation has said, following the Taliban’s decision to ban women from Afghanistan’s universities. […] Scholars at Risk, which advocates for academic freedom, said the move

Free to Think 2022 – A Global Report on Academic Freedom

On November 8, 2022, Scholars at Risk released Free to Think 2022, a report analyzing 391 attacks in 65 countries and territories, between September 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022. The report underscores the pervasive and urgent problem of attacks

Iran students abroad stand in solidarity as peers lead uprisings

“Iranians studying abroad have taken to the streets in solidarity with the student-led, anti-government protests that erupted across Iran in September, while efforts have begun to protect Iranian scholars involved in the uprising. […] Scholars at Risk told The PIE News that

A Voice for the Hazara People

As a scholar of private law with over a decade of experience, Prof. Dr. Adbullah Shafaee conducts research on family law, constitutional law, property law, Islamic law, and women’s law, among others, and has been involved in drafting and amending

Afghan scientific expertise scattered, one year on from Taliban takeover

“Afghan scientific expertise scattered, one year on from Taliban takeover” A piece by Rebecca Trager, for Chemistry News. Afghanistan’s research infrastructure may be idling, but students and researchers who managed to escape abroad continue their work and plan to return to

Afghan chemists are afraid and uncertain

“Afghan chemists are afraid and uncertain.” A piece by Andrea Widener for Chemical and Engineering News. A year ago, women chemists in Afghanistan were excited about the future. Young girls had started to think they didn’t have to be teachers

Brazilian university under continuous attack worries international entities

A piece by Marcelo Vinicius Miranda Barros for Le Monde diplomatique. The constant Brazilian academic decline has taken on a proportion that Scholars at Risk (SAR) formally demanded attention from the United Nations (UN) on the subject. Read the full piece.

Helping at-risk scholars

A piece by Iryna Zenyuk, for UCI News. Reflections from Iryna Zenyuk, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering Feb. 24, 2022, was a regular day in the lab for me, with a proposal review panel and meetings – nothing extraordinary.

In search of a research haven

A piece by Michele Catanzaro for Nature. From Syria to Ukraine, Italian universities have set up projects to host displaced scholars. Now they need to look beyond the emergency and offer systematic solutions, experts say. In Trento, Ghanya Al-Naqueb extracts