Eleven colleges and universities across the nation have come together to form a coalition that will help refugee scholars fleeing war or intimidated by their governments with a temporary academic home.
The New University in Exile Consortium led by The New School in New York has been set up with the aim to protect the intellectual capital by assisting the endangered and persecuted scholars.
The initiative was taken after a rise in attacks on educators in many countries throughout the world, making it mandatory for the educational institutions in the U.S. to intervene.
“In some places, for example in Turkey, universities are being shuttered and hundreds of scholars purged and jailed. In other countries, like Yemen and Syria, scholars have been forced to flee and universities have been destroyed, severely weakening, if not eliminating, the infrastructure necessary for higher education,” reads the Consortium website.
“We believe universities that are not confronting such threats must act to protect the scholars and universities that are.”
The New School, whose Social Research Professor Arien Mack conceived the idea, will serve as the convener and administrative base of the consortium.
“The New UIE Consortium brings our institution’s roots — to confront threats to scholars around the world — into the present and future when it is again urgently needed,” Mack, who is now the director of the consortium, said.
“It is based on our conviction that the academic community has both the responsibility and capacity to assist scholars in need, by helping to protect the intellectual capital that is jeopardized when universities and scholars are under assault.”
Along with The New School, the Consortium is lead by Barnard College, Brown University, Columbia University, Connecticut College, Georgetown University, George Mason University, Rutgers University-Newark, Trinity College, Wayne State University, and Wellesley College.
The consortium will be formally launched on Thursday, September 6.
