“Equity, diversity and inclusion at Canadian Universities: Report on the 2019 Survey” — Universities Canada. Academic Freedom.

Consider the following excerpts from the survey, (1.) and (2.), taken together: If academic freedom is a barrier to EDI (2.), and if university presidents are personally committed to (1.) “being an EDI advocate and championing EDI principles and values,” then it seems to follow that university presidents are personally committed to removing (or limiting) academic freedom as a barrier to EDI.

1. “HOW PRESIDENTS ARE MAKING THEIR COMMITMENT TO EDI EVIDENT

University presidents reported making their personal commitment [bolding mine – PL, blog host] to EDI evident, including by:

• Being an EDI advocate and championing EDI principles and values.
• Making EDI a focus with regards to hiring practices for faculty, staff, Canada Research Chairs and senior leadership.
• Including EDI as a priority in the strategic plan.
• Ensuring faculty and staff receive EDI training.
• Leading and chairing committees dedicated to EDI.In addition, three-quarters of presidents indicated that they are evaluating the performance of their senior leaders, in part, on how well they implement EDI principles and best practices in their work. And 45%of presidents reported that EDI is one of the metrics by which their board evaluates their performance. While some institutions have instituted formal EDI performance metrics, others have not.” (Equity, diversity and inclusion at Canadian universities, 9)

2. “[A list of] Challenges/Barriers [to EDI] …Integrating EDI considerations in teaching and learning [challenge]…2. Academic freedom [barrier]” (Equity, diversity and inclusion at Canadian universities, 33)

• “Equity, diversity and inclusion at Canadian universities: Report on the 2019 survey,” Media Room/Publications/, Universities Canada, November 4, 2019, https://www.univcan.ca/media-room/publications/equity-diversity-and-inclusion-at-canadian-universities-report-on-the-2019-survey/, accessed July 24, 2022.