News & Events

August 27, 2025

The Moynihan Center at The City College of New York (CCNY) is proud to announce its inaugural cohort of Academic Freedom Fellows, distinguished scholars who bring invaluable global perspectives on defending intellectual freedom in challenging political environments. This initiative addresses the urgent need to reinvigorate the culture and practices of academic freedom in public higher education institutions across the United States.

The Academic Freedom Fellows represent diverse geographic regions and disciplinary backgrounds, united by their firsthand experience navigating threats to scholarly independence. Bringing voices from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Venezuela, these scholars offer essential insights into how academic freedom operates under different political systems.

The 2025–2026 Academic Freedom Fellows are:

• Dmitry Dubrovskiy, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Charles University
• Felix Kaputu, Faculty Member in Literary and Social Studies, Bard College at Simon's Rock
• Seyed Masoud Noori, Founder and Executive Director, Roya Institute for Global Justice
• Homeira Qaderi, Research Assistant and Lecturer, Yale University
• Verónica Zubillaga, Mellon Visiting Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago

"The Academic Freedom Teaching Coalition represents a critical investment in protecting one of democracy's foundational principles," said Carlo Invernizzi Accetti, executive director of the Moynihan Center. "By bringing together scholars who have defended intellectual freedom under authoritarian regimes and repressive conditions, we create an unprecedented learning environment where our students gain a deep understanding of both the fragility and resilience of academic institutions. This global perspective is essential for American students who increasingly face similar pressures."

The fellowship addresses an urgent reality: ongoing attacks against higher education institutions across the United States demonstrate that academic freedom cannot be taken for granted. Government encroachment into higher education, previously thought relevant primarily in non-democratic contexts, is now urgently salient in the United States as well.

Michael Miller, managing director of the Moynihan Center, emphasized the program's unique approach: "What distinguishes our Academic Freedom initiative is its recognition that protecting intellectual freedom requires more than legal safeguards—it demands cultivating a lived commitment to these values. Our fellows don't just study academic freedom theoretically; they embody it through their courage in defending scholarly independence under the most challenging circumstances. Their presence at CCNY will create transformative learning opportunities for our students."

The Teaching Coalition will produce scalable educational resources, including a pilot course curriculum, on the theory and practice of academic freedom designed for adoption at public higher education institutions nationwide. Through intensive workshops and collaborative curriculum development, the program addresses the specific vulnerabilities of public institutions, which educate larger numbers of students while facing greater exposure to political interference.

Fellows expressed their commitment to this vital mission:

Felix Kaputu reflected on the program's significance: "I am eager to join the Moynihan Center as an Academic Freedom Fellow because my own career was saved by institutions committed to protecting scholars at risk. Academic freedom is vital to the integrity of teaching and research, yet threats to it have become a global reality, not just a problem for developing countries. Today, academics face rising risks, and students are exposed to new forms of intimidation. It is time for universities to embed academic freedom into their curricula, so that scholars and students alike are equipped to defend their rights and promote this fundamental value in society."

Homeira Qaderi brought an urgent perspective from Afghanistan: "I am participating in the Academic Freedom Fellowship to advocate for academic rights in Afghanistan, especially for women and girls denied education. As a writer and educator in exile, I aim to amplify silenced voices and share firsthand experiences of censorship and repression. This fellowship will allow me to resume research, engage globally, and raise awareness about the critical need to protect academic freedom. My presence will also benefit students by offering real-life insights into the cost of losing these freedoms, inspiring them to defend the values of inquiry, justice, and open discourse in their own communities and beyond."

The Academic Freedom Teaching Coalition draws inspiration from Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's boundary-crossing career, which bridged the academic world and government service. As Moynihan observed, "There is a more powerful connection than people think between the world of ideas and the world of practical politics." This understanding positions the Moynihan Center as an ideal forum for developing intellectual responses to government attacks on academic freedom.

By learning from scholars who have defended intellectual freedom in authoritarian regimes, repressive environments, and periods of political upheaval, students will gain deeper understanding of the principles sustaining free inquiry, which transcend national boundaries but also require context-specific strategies for protection. The initiative exemplifies the Center's approach of bringing together rigorous scholarship with practical strategies for defending democratic institutions, ensuring that the next generation of civic leaders possesses both the intellectual courage and analytical skills necessary to protect the principles of free inquiry that sustain democratic governance.

The City College of New York provides an ideal setting for this work as the city's first and largest public higher education institution, with a long history of fostering open and independent inquiry among its students and scholars, who now face many of the same challenges confronted by other higher education affiliates nationwide.

For more information about the Academic Freedom Teaching Coalition, click here.