Scholars around the world are marginalized, punished and killed for their beliefs, ideas and teachings.
Hoping to save lives and contribute to the fight for intellectual freedom and human rights, the global Scholars at Risk (SAR) network of universities and colleges is providing sanctuary to oppressed teachers, researchers and other intellectuals.
On June 17, Western will host an open information session about SAR to discuss the potential of identifying faculty champions and establishing the initiative here. The event will be held in Michael’s Garden from noon to 3 p.m..
“We established a committee that concluded the SAR program could be viable at Western provided we develop a consensus related to the needs and benefits of hosting such a program,” says Ted Hewitt, Western’s Vice-President (Research & International Relations). “We need to ensure such a program is well-defined and managed, and that it provides the proper support to visiting scholars.”
SAR members host qualified scholars deemed to be at-risk in various regions of the world and offer temporary or short-term academic positions to help them escape dangerous conditions in their home countries and continue their scholarly work unimpeded.
SAR’s Deputy Director, Sinéad O’Gorman, will deliver a keynote address. Other participants include Hewitt, Moain Sadeq of the SAR program at the University of Toronto; Michael Carroll, Western’s UWOFA president; Anna Luengo, the SAR program administrator at Massey College at the University of Toronto; and Michael Lynk, Associate Dean (Academic) in Western’s Faculty of Law.
The SAR organization is headquartered at New York University and includes members at Harvard, Johns-Hopkins and a host of others located in nearly two-dozen countries worldwide. Currently, the only Canadian member is Massey College at the University of Toronto.
