

President Debora Spar's Response to the ASA Resolution

Barnard College President Debora Spar issued the following statement on December 29, 2013:

As President of Barnard, I stand with the Executive Committee of the Association of American Universities in my strong opposition to a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. All scholars have the right to speak out against issues or policies with which they disagree, but academic boycotts pose a threat to the intellectual exchange and open debate that sit at the very core of our educational mission. I would urge fellow scholars and their affiliated academic associations to seek alternative forms of protest that do not jeopardize academia's crucial role as a marketplace for independent thinking and collaborative dialogue.