October Update from the AFA
The AFA continues our work on several existing cases and is also exploring additional requests for assistance. In the meantime, below are updates from the month of October.
Keith Whittington Sits Down with John Tomasi
How does political intervention shape the landscape of higher education? That was the subject of Keith Whittington’s recent appearance on the Heterodox Academy’s Out Loud Podcast with John Tomasi. They discuss increasingly contentious legislative interventions in higher education such as Florida’s “Stop Woke Act.” Keith compares today’s interventions to past efforts, discussing implications for academic freedom, First Amendment rights, and university regulation.
He also discusses our work and accomplishments here at the AFA and highlights his new book, “You Can’t Teach That.” You can check out the full interview on the Heterodox Academy’s YouTube page.
New Event on Censorship in the Sciences
This month the AFA announced that we are cosponsoring a conference titled Censorship in the Sciences: An Interdisciplinary Perspective taking place in January 2025, hosted by the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research.
The conference brings together experts, including multiple AFA members, to address contentious issues and questions about scientific censorship: When, if ever, does rejection of manuscripts for publication or grants for funding constitute censorship? How much of a role, if any, should ethical/moral issues play in deciding which scientific ideas to disseminate? What are the likely costs and benefits of institutionalized censorship, how do we decide, and who decides, when the benefits outweigh the costs?
Registration opened on October 7 and there are still some spots remaining. To learn more and sign up, please visit the event website.
Continued Growth
We added three new members in October, bringing our total membership to 893. We continue to accept new members on a rolling basis. Please send any nominations to AFA Director of Operations Howard Muncy at hmuncy@academicfreedom.org.
As we continue to expand our membership and casework, we’re grateful to everyone who has donated to our organization and hope our members and friends will consider contributing here. We could not do our work without your generous support.