NMC Statement on the CAUT Censure:
The Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations (NMC) recognizes that the University of Toronto is under a censure from the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), in response to a hiring decision in the Faculty of Law. The censure addresses CAUT members, requesting that they decline the following: invitations for speaking engagements, honours, and faculty appointments at U of T. NMC does not have a collective view on the censure; as members of the University, NMC faculty and students each have the academic freedom to consider and determine their response to this censure. NMC nevertheless will not be hosting departmentally sponsored events with external speakers while the censure remains in place. The hiring and appointment of early career scholars will continue. NMC affirms and is committed to the University of Toronto’s stated purpose of “fostering an academic community in which the learning and scholarship of every member may flourish, with vigilant protection for individual human rights, and a resolute commitment to the principles of equal opportunity, equity and justice.”