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Vol. XXXVIII No. 1September/October 2025
Reply to Prof. Hutchinson on Arguing Ad Hominem
Professor Hutchinson claims that the authors of the open letter to Professor Alex Byrne[1] commit the logical fallacy of arguing ad hominem. To commit this fallacy is to illicitly exploit...
Vol. XXXVIII No. 1September/October 2025
Are Ad Hominem Attacks Legitimate Academic Freedom?*
The Latin phrase ad hominem meaning to the person describes approaches to argumentation, debate, discourse, and politics, that consist of personal attacks against the opposing speaker, rather than presenting arguments...
Vol. XXXVIII No. 1September/October 2025
Introducing OACES
In August 2025, we were pleased to announce the arrival of OACES (pronounced “oasis”), or the Office of Academic Community, Empowerment, and Success. OACES is a “pillar” (or sub-unit) in...
Vol. XXXVIII No. 1September/October 2025
Why There Were No Faculty Newsletter Editorial Board Elections Last Spring
Some of you may be wondering why the Faculty Newsletter Editorial Board elections didn’t happen this May. The FNL Nominations Committee went through a process of selecting a slate of...
Vol. XXXVIII No. 2October 2025
MITCAF Statement on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”
MITCAF statement on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” Summary. The MIT Council on Academic Freedom objects to the proposed draft compact between the federal government and MIT....
Vol. XXXVIII No. 1September/October 2025
The Silbey Report: Independence, Transparency, and a Path Forward for the Faculty Newsletter (FNL)
At the May 2024 Institute Faculty Meeting, a motion was passed to convene an ad hoc committee charged with reviewing and revising the policies and procedures of the MIT Faculty...
Vol. XXXVIII No. 1September/October 2025
How US Universities Can Survive State Terrorism*
As a professor at MIT, I find myself navigating strange waters these days. Last semester, I advised the thesis of a student who left the country because she did not...
Vol. XXXVIII No. 1September/October 2025
Reflections on an Encounter Outside Wichita, Kansas
Around twenty years ago my wife and I took our children to visit her brother and his family in Wichita, Kansas. We were living in Medford at the time, near...
Vol. XXXVII No. 5May/June 2025
Academic Freedom is What Makes Our Nation Great*
Today the concept of academic freedom may seem obvious to Americans. But the roots of academic freedom, which can be traced back to medieval European universities, were never certain. Back...