Working Group

In 2023, the Working Group made good progress in four workstreams considering policy, engagement and culture, communications, and education, respectively. A summary of that progress can be found below. 

Working Group progress and outcomes in 2023

In 2024, the Working Group is being refreshed to include a focus on newly identified priorities:

• to better assert the importance of research;
• to broaden the understanding of academic freedom and freedom of expression within our community as positive and essentially democratic values;
• to address the intersection between academic freedom, freedom of expression, and equality, diversity and inclusion.

The Group is also being restructured to build capacity and expertise to deliver its renewed remit. Four Workstreams and two ‘Task and Finish groups’ will take forward the new priorities as agreed by the University Executive.

To support delivery of this refreshed remit, University Executive has agreed that Professor David Smith will become the new Convenor of the revised Working Group. David, who was previously Deputy Convenor of the Working Group, has been tasked with championing freedom of expression and academic freedom within the University, reporting on progress to the Provost, Professor Kim Graham, and University Executive.

Workstreams 

Four new workstreams are being established, replacing those already in existence, to bring together staff across the University to collaboratively consider a number of guiding questions. Below you can find out more about the focus of each workstream, including the scope and remit that workstream members will help to collectively refine. 

Legislation Workstream: What does the University need to do to ensure it meets its legislative requirements in respect of freedom of expression and academic freedom? 

 

Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Workstream: How can our University community celebrate its intellectual diversity, affirming the democratic principles of freedom of expression and academic freedom, while fostering a respectful and inclusive environment?  

 

Challenges Workstream: How can the University proactively address contemporary and future challenges to freedom of expression and academic freedom? 

 

Curriculum and Education (Learning and Teaching) Workstream: How can educators support students to become highly skilled in participating as citizens in society’s contested spaces?   

 

Task and Finish Groups

Two new ‘Task and Finish’ groups are also being created to carry out research within our community to consider the following: 

Pastoral Support Task and Finish Group: How can the University effectively and consistently support and protect colleagues who encounter unwanted publicity, who are attacked, or who experience distress, due to their exercising of academic freedom and freedom of expression or due to somebody else’s exercising of these rights?  

 

Research Task and Finish Group: What does our large and diverse University community understand about academic freedom and freedom of expression? How does our University community experience these rights?   

To deliver the renewed priorities we have expanded the membership of the working group.  Following the recruitment process described in our blog we now have around 50 group members from across the University Community. 

Working Group Membership

 

Expert Contributors

Support from the wider university community is vital for this work. We would like to expand our list of expert contributors.  If you have knowledge or experience that will help the group and are willing to provide it on an ad hoc basis, please complete our form and provide us with your details.

Expression of Interest form