Our Mission

The Consortium is a globally expanding group of colleges and universities in the U.S., Bangladesh, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Each institutional member is committed to hosting at least one threatened scholar every year and these exiled hosted scholars constitute our scholar cohort. We work with them individually and together to try and lessen the profound sense of dislocation that exiled scholars suffer and which adversely impacts their intellectual and personal lives. Since 2021, the Consortium has expanded its mission to include finding placements for threatened Afghan and Ukrainian academics, students, and artists at Consortium member institutions.

Established in September 2018, the Consortium follows in the tradition of The New School’s original University in Exile created by The New School’s first President, Alvin Johnson, in 1933. The first University in Exile became the home of rescued, largely Jewish endangered scholars from Germany and France. Today, members of the New University in Exile Consortium are hosting more than 150 exiled scholars from 29 countries.

Is your institution interested in joining the Consortium? Here’s how!

Sixth Annual Consortium Scholars’ Conference
May 10, 2024

Keynote by Dr. Michael Ignatieff

Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. He was rector and President of Central European University from 2016 until July 2021.

Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu Released under House Arrest

After 274 days in detention, Dr. Gubad Inbadoghlu was released from a Baku detention center under house arrest.

While still conditionally imprisoned, Dr. Ibadoghlu will now be able to receive proper medical care and be with his family for the first time since he was unjustly arrested on July 23, 2023. His release comes after Rep. Dina Titus from Nevada introduced a bill to the U.S. Congress proposing sanctions against high-ranking Azerbaijani officials due to human rights violations and sustained political repression.

Read more →

“‘They Can’t Kill Us All‘: These Scholars Lost Their Countries and Found Each Other“

By Melissa Fay Greene, published by Mother Jones on November 23, 2022

Mother Jones illustration; Getty

Assistance for Ukrainian Scholars and students:

We are mobilizing our network of member institutions to take immediate action to find residential and virtual placements for Ukrainian scholars and students. Read more about our work here.

Assistance for Afghan Scholars, Students & Artists:

We are mobilizing our network of member institutions to take immediate action to find residential placements for Afghan scholars, students, and artists. Read more about our work:

Support for students and scholars

University in Exile for Afghan Artists

Looking for ways to help?

It is more important than ever to grow our network of member institutions as we work to ensure safety and opportunity for Afghan scholars, students, and artists. Each institution that joins the Consortium provides a lifeline to an endangered scholar and strengthens the Consortium’s community as a whole.

Join Us

If you are affiliated with a college or university and would like your institution to take the next step toward becoming a member of the Consortium, email us at uieconsortium@newschool.edu. There are a few simple criteria for membership — primarily a commitment by your institution to host an endangered scholar. There are no membership dues.

Donate

Want to make an immediate impact? Every donation counts as we grow to meet the demands of this crisis, and your donation will go directly to our programs for exiled, endangered scholars, students, and artists.

Each scholar we support will receive a fellowship of $50,000.

Each artist we support will receive a fellowship of $50,000.

We are a global Consortium. Welcome to our newest members.

This year, we have become a global initiative spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2018, our member institutions have supported more than 150 Scholars from 29 countries. By extending the network of exiled scholars we will not only provide formerly untapped possibilities for collaboration, but also increase our understanding and the understanding of the scholars themselves, about how attacks on universities and scholars play out in different regions, and how they might best be opposed.

Co-Led Online Seminars

The Consortium’s Fall 2022 co-led online seminars are now open for registration! Topics include translation, media, feminist research methodologies, democracy, and energy and security. Register now!

Sourcebook

The Consortium SourceBook is a searchable database of resources for endangered scholars. The SourceBook is global in scope, organized by field and interest, and includes fellowships, scholarships, professional opportunities, legal resources, language resources, and mental health resources.

Library Access Initiative

The Library Access Initiative provides stranded endangered scholars with remote access to the electronic materials available via Consortium Member-Institution libraries. Apply here.