UG endorses European statement on American threats to academic freedom and international cooperation

The UG endorses the statement by the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) on the threats to academic freedom and international academic collaboration coming from the United States. By signing this statement, the Board of the University (CvB) also expresses its grave concern about the growing threats to academic freedom, both in the US and beyond. This statement has since been signed by over 100 European knowledge institutions and academic organizations.

In many places in the US, research projects have ground to a halt due to the sudden discontinuation of funding by the new government.  In addition, certain research areas, such as climate change and gender studies, are faced with censorship and the access to previously public research data has been terminated. These measures also affect researchers from outside the US who collaborate with researchers from the US or who are working on projects that receive American funding.

The new restrictive measures imposed by the US are not only harmful to academia but to our entire global society. Academic freedom and autonomy are great goods that we will defend at all times. The CvB closely follows the developments in the US and joins the conversation on European, national, and local levels.

If you have any questions about current or (potential) future collaborations and/or projects based on U.S. federal funding, please ask our colleagues of the Research & Impact cluster via secr.research.impact@rug.nl.