Activities

Scholars at Risk’s primary activities involve providing assistance to threatened scholars and host campuses. SAR also engages in education and advocacy aimed at promoting academic freedom and defending threatened scholars and universities worldwide. Specific activity areas include:

Hosting Threatened Scholars: SAR works to match scholars under threat in their home country with universities and colleges in safe locations anywhere in the world. SAR invites member institutions to host threatened scholars as temporary visitors on their campuses. SAR also compiles and shares with member institutions best practices and other resources related to hosting.

Resources for Threatened/Displaced Scholars: SAR counsels scholars and other individuals under threat or those forced out of their country and seeking to resume their lives and careers in exile. SAR compiles information and resources to help displaced scholars with job searches and adjustment to new communities. 

Speaker Series: SAR promotes speaking events at Network member institutions featuring SAR scholars and topics relating to attacks on academic freedom and universities.

Students at Risk: SAR recognizes that students, especially student leaders, frequently suffer the same types of threats and attacks as scholars. Working with a small group of Network member institutions, SAR is exploring ways to create study and other hosting opportunities for threatened students.

Alerts & Campaigns: SAR undertakes activities on behalf of scholars still under threat in their home country—such as those suffering prosecution on improper or false charges or wrongfully imprisoned—as well as against widespread threats to an entire faculty, university or system.

Research: SAR is developing a number of research projects aimed at promoting understanding of and respect for academic freedom and related values. These project include information gathering, measuring the scope of threats, opinion polling, standards development, monitoring and reporting. Themes from various research activities are discussed at SAR conferences and through volunteer committees and working groups.

SAR Mentorship Program: The SAR mentorship program provides university faculty and staff the opportunity to have a direct impact on the life of a SAR scholar. Upon leaving their home countries for new teaching and research positions, SAR scholars enter a new country and a new way of life. Where possible, SAR scholars are linked with mentors in their field of research in order to cultivate both a personal and professional relationship. Interested faculty and staff at member institutions are encouraged to contact the SAR network offive for a mentorship registration form.