SAR in the Press

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

EAIE Podcast: Academic freedom: 25 years and counting

Academic freedom is under increasing strain around the world, as scholars and institutions confront political pressure, censorship, and growing geopolitical complexity. In this episode of the EAIE Podcast, SAR Executive Director Robert Quinn joins host Laura Rumbley to reflect on

Global academic freedom group warns Trump is dismantling US higher education

Scholars at Risk (SAR) Executive Director Rob Quinn spoke with The Guardian on SAR’s recent Free to Think 2025 report and pressures facing academic freedom in the US. “We are witnessing an unprecedented situation – really as far as I can tell in history

“‘No way to invest in a career here’: US academics flee overseas to avoid Trump crackdown” | The Guardian

Robert Quinn, SAR Executive Director, offers insight on how recent US policies disrupting research will have ripple effects far beyond campus. “When a big economic contributor gets disrupted, that’s going to begin to affect everybody relatively quickly in those communities,”

Trump’s ongoing attacks on HE ‘reverberate across borders’

The US administration’s ongoing attacks on higher education have wide-ranging impacts, from reducing international interest in studying in the US to undermining the bedrock legal principle of due process. SAR’s Executive Director Robert Quinn speaks more on the absence of

Guidance for international students on US’s hostile regime

This piece, “Guidance for international students on US’s hostile regime,” includes commentary from SAR Executive Director Rob Quinn on the United States government’s arrests and deportations of international students. Read select excerpts below: …The increasingly hostile regime being created via

When Academic Freedom Falls, Civil Society Is Next

Across the United States, universities are raising the alarm about what they see as a campaign by the Donald Trump administration to assert political control over higher education. Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, Northwestern and the University of Pennsylvania have all experienced withdrawn

Scholars at Risk (SAR) voices concern on Paul Chamber’s Lèse-majesté Case

112WATCH interviews Clare Robinson of Scholars at Risk, on the ongoing lèse-majesté case against academic Paul Chambers. (Read SAR’s Monitoring Report here). “Prosecutions of scholars like Paul Chambers are intended to have a chilling effect on research, writing, and discussion

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