[BIFI] Berkeley Initiative for Free Inquiry

Author: Chris Hoofnagle

  • Pamela Paul on Institutional Neutrality

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    Pamela Paul writes in the New York Times: The temptation for universities to take a moral stand, especially in response to overheated campus sentiment, is understandable. But it’s a trap. When universities make it their mission to do the “right” thing politically, they’re effectively telling large parts of their communities — and the polarized country…

  • Statement on Return Event for Ran Bar-Yoshafat

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    Executive Committee Statement We write as Berkeley faculty in response to the news that several student groups plan to host the Israeli speaker Ran Bar-Yoshafat for a return visit on Monday, March 18. Our group has no position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but we are committed to defending free expression on campus. The last time…

  • Harvard May Consider Institutional Neutrality

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    The Harvard Crimson reports: Interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 is expected to announce a working group that will consider a policy of institutional neutrality, a move that comes just months after the University became embroiled in controversy over its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

  • Is Institutional Neutrality Catching On?

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    The CHE reports: Amid a polarized political climate and debates about the war in Gaza and hot-button social issues like abortion rights, university leaders’ statements about current events have attracted attention and scrutiny. A small but growing number of institutions are responding to the pressure by swearing off such statements altogether.

  • “Faculty for Yale” Formed

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    The group’s founding commitments are: Of course, not everyone agrees with the diagnosis made by Faculty for Yale. A group of Yale faculty critical of institutional neutrality have penned “A Letter to the Next Yale President” with a different vision for the university.

  • Gutkin: The Hyperbolic Style in American Academe

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    CHE essayist Len Gutkin writes: …Over the last several years, a curious species of overheated activist prose has proved attractive to scholars across the university. Call it the hyperbolic style in American academe.

  • Columbia Embraces Kalven

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    Jerry Coyne reports that Columbia University has endorsed the Kalven (institutional neutrality) principles—one of just four campuses to do so.

  • Columbia Adopts Institutional Neutrality, Governance Resolution

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    In a 68-0 vote, Columbia’s Academic Senate adopted a resolution “Reconfirming our Commitment to the Principles of Academic Freedom and Shared Governance.” The Senate resolved: Columbia’s senate details the debate and discussion surrounding the adoption here. In the Senate minutes, one proponent of the resolution explained academic freedom as both creating rights and responsibilities: Sen.…

  • Columbia Creates Faculty Academic Freedom Council

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    Over 70 faculty have come together to create the Columbia Academic Freedom Council. The group endorsed these responsibilities: I. Responsibility to protect academic freedom. Like many on campus, we believe that the liberal ideal of academic freedom—the freedom to think, write, publish, and teach without restrictions in the course of our duties as scholars—is core…

  • IIS to Host Yoel Inbar

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    Chris Hoofnagle
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    Berkeley’s Institute of International Studies will host Yoel Inbar as part of its Berkeley Academic Freedom in a Global Perspective series. The talk, How Understanding Moral Thinking Can Help Us Understand Debates About Academic Freedom, is February 20th at 4 PM in 223 Philosophy Hall. Register here.