July 23, 2024
The New University in Exile Consortium is delighted to publish our 2023-24 Annual Report, which details our expanding programs, advocacy campaigns, and scholar accomplishments from the past year. As international conflict, violence, and political repression continue to surge throughout the world, the work of academics and the state of academic freedom becomes increasingly perilous. Read the letter from Director Arien Mack and download the report below:
Letter from the Director
In a most difficult year of war, political repression, and global unrest, the New University in Exile Consortium continues to support our ever-growing cohort of nearly 300 threatened scholars by creating a meaningful and supportive intellectual community to which each entering scholar quickly feels they belong.
Whether through the individual conversations we have with each and every Consortium scholar, the scholar presentations during our weekly Scholars’ Forum, our Annual Scholar Retreat, or the expanding opportunities to teach and reconnect with students through our co-led online seminars, the Consortium continues to focus on creating a welcoming community in which every scholar has the opportunity to teach, speak, listen, and be heard in a world where intellectual discourse is increasingly fraught.
In July 2023, the Consortium community came together to speak out against the all too familiar reality of political repression and violence, which was brought home to us by the unjust arrest and imprisonment in Azerbaijan of one of our scholars, Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu, an esteemed Azeri economist. Through global advocacy campaigns and individual connections to politicians and doctors, our community worked tirelessly to advocate for his release and ameliorate the conditions of his detainment. Now under house arrest and awaiting trial, Dr. Ibadoghlu’s story is a terrible reminder of the realities many of our scholar-members face and the work we have to do to make the world safer for academics, students, artists, and thinkers.
While important conversations about academic freedom are happening on campuses around the world, at the Consortium, we need not look further than our own colleagues to understand what is at stake. Amidst these horrors, we also celebrate the unbelievable resilience and accomplishments of our Consortium scholars, who continue to write, research, publish, and teach despite all they have endured. We are committed to supporting our scholars in all their endeavors and will work steadfastly to protect and nurture scholars forced into exile and the rich intellectual resources they represent.
Arien Mack
Founding Director
As you read about our work and commitment to supporting endangered scholars, students, and artists, we hope you will consider making a donation to ensure that this urgent work can continue. We need your support to assist endangered and displaced scholars, and we look forward to continuing and expanding our work during the 2024-2025 academic year.