Scholars at Risk

Description

Scholars at Risk is an international network of higher education institutions and individuals that works to protect scholars and defend academic freedom.

It supports professors, researchers, institutional leaders, journalists, writers and human rights advocates who are threatened because of conflict or the content of their work. Its network includes more than 600 institutions in over 45 countries, organized around protection, advocacy and learning. It arranges temporary academic positions at member institutions for scholars whose lives or careers are at risk, letting them continue research and teaching in safety.

Through its Scholars in Prison project it advocates for detained and silenced academics, using letter-writing campaigns and public awareness efforts. Its Academic Freedom Monitoring Project documents attacks on higher education, published annually in Free to Think reports. It also runs SAR sections, regional coalitions and partner networks that coordinate advocacy and monitoring in the Americas, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Scholars at Risk was founded in 1999 as part of a human rights program at the University of Chicago, and launched publicly in 2000. It later relocated to New York University, where it is headquartered today alongside an office at Maynooth University in Ireland.