Council of CAUT Deplores Failure of York Administration to Defend Academic Freedom

1 May 04 - CAUT Council passed the following motion:

"Whereas research and the dissemination of research are vital to the mission of universities,

and whereas the York University Administration advertises the areas of scholarly expertise of its professors,

and whereas Professor Robert MacDermid was served with notice of libel suits by an Ontario Provincial Cabinet Minister (Tony Clement) and a lobbyist (Leslie Noble) after he had spoken on a subject in which he had recognized expertise,

The Council of CAUT deplores the failure of the York University Administration to offer prompt legal aid to Professor MacDermid in order to defend his academic freedom,

and more generally calls on all university administrations to provide independent legal counsel to university teachers in all cases in which their academic freedom is challenged.

Moreover, the Council of CAUT notes that the academic freedom of academic staff members should not be restricted to their areas of scholarly expertise."

56th CAUT Council Meeting, Ottawa, April 29 - May 1, 2004