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Academic Freedom

Academic freedom is the right of post-secondary academic staff, without restriction by prescribed doctrine, to use their best professional judgment in their teaching and research; to be able to disseminate the results of their research and scholarship; to acquire, preserve, and provide access to documentary material in all formats; to express their opinions about the institution in which they work; and to exercise their rights as citizens without institutional sanction or censorship.

Blog March 11, 2025

Jangling the Bells: The Report of the Third-Party Investigation of the Clearing of the Palestinian Solidarity Encampment at the University of Alberta

On 11 May 2024, in the predawn hours, members of the Edmonton Police Service walked onto the campus at the University of Alberta dressed in riot gear to execute the direction of the University of Alberta’s president, Bill Flanagan, that they clear away a Palestinian solidarity encampment that had been set up just two days before. Flanagan’s choice to exercise coercive force against the protestors, whose encampment was peaceful, so outraged the University of Alberta community that there were numerous calls for Flanagan’s resignation.