In my time in higher education, it’s hard to think of a more contentious, sector-wide issue than the challenge of balancing our commitment to free speech and academic freedom, with our desire to provide an inclusive place for everyone in our university community.
Whenever subjects are divisive, politically sensitive, complex, and hotly discussed in wider society, it’s crucial that the academic community is thinking, questioning, and debating. Ensuring academic freedom is fundamental to us as a university and – like freedom of the press – it’s a cornerstone of an open society.
But that doesn’t mean that we don’t acknowledge the challenges that some discussions create.
One subject exemplifies the challenges that colleagues at the Open University and across the sector experience: as institutions we are committed to protecting the academic freedom of researchers who take a gender-critical perspective, but we also know that there are staff and students who feel their very existence or identity is being questioned through this work.
