University of Augsburg joins the Scholars at Risk Network
The University of Augsburg has become a full member of the Scholars at Risk Network (SAR). The network is primarily supported by universities and funding institutions. It was established in 1999 by the University of Chicago to protect scholars who are under threat or in danger and to strengthen freedom in research and teaching. “By joining the SAR Network, the University of Augsburg is sending an important signal, nationally as well as internationally, in the context of higher education policy for the protection of scholars under threat,” says Prof Frank Kramer, vice-president for internationalisation. Through its membership the university is also increasing its international visibility and profile. It can also apply for organisational assistance for the admittance of scholars who are in danger. “In view of the global threat to scholars, as well as the political difficulties facing universities in the United States, it is now the time to join the network. The integration of the German section into the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation also guarantees a high level of expertise and organisational and procedural security,” says Dr Stephan Hollensteiner, head of the International Office. The Scholars at Risk Network has approximately 650 member institutions in 45 countries and is divided into national and regional sections. In Europe, most of the members are from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries. The German section, with its secretariat at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, has around 60 members, 25 of whom are full members. In Bavaria, these include the University of Bayreuth, the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU), and the Technical University of Munich. The main office is now located at New York University. The Scholars at Risk Network assists around 300 researchers globally each year. A total of more than 2,100 threatened persons have been placed in host institutions as well as financially supported in individual cases. The network’s activities are also interlinked with other academic protection programmes, such as the Philip Schwarz Initiative, the Marie Sklodowska Curie Programme 4Ukraine, the Einstein Foundation Berlin’s Academic Freedom Programme, and the Academy in Exile Initiative of the Freie Universität Berlin, Philipps-Universität Marburg, and the University Alliance Ruhr. .
About the Scholars at Risk Network