UMass Academic Freedom Toolkit Goes National at Scholars at Risk Conference

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Jennifer Lundquist, sociology and senior associate dean for research and faculty development in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, has been invited to lead a workshop at the 2026 Scholars at Risk U.S. General Assembly’s pre-conference Prevention, Preparedness, and Response to Academic Freedom Violations and Attacks on Scholars, November 12–14, at the University of Chicago. The gathering, Truth Matters: Defending Scholars & Academic Freedom in Challenging Times, brings together scholars, higher education leaders, and advocates to address growing threats to academic freedom.

Lundquist will lead interactive sessions on Institutional Scholar Protections, drawing on the Academic Freedom Crisis Toolkit she developed at UMass Amherst in consultation with the Faculty Senate's Academic Freedom Task Force. Originally designed to help faculty and administrators prepare for and respond to political harassment and attacks on scholarship, the toolkit has been adapted by other organizations nationally and has since inspired a new set of resources that she developed through Stand Together for Higher Ed, a national organization Lundquist co-directs with UMass Amherst journalism professor Kathy Forde and sociology professor Mark Pachucki.

The workshop will introduce participants to an institutional Academic Freedom Stress Test designed to identify gaps between protections promised on paper and those available in practice. Participants will also learn how to develop their own campus-specific academic freedom toolkits and response protocols with this template. These resources, available through Stand Together for Higher Ed, aim to help institutions move beyond statements of principle toward concrete systems of prevention, preparedness, and response.