December 27, 2013

Drexel University is committed to a spirit of free inquiry, and to the clash of ideas which represents true critical engagement. These ideas form the core of academic freedom. The recent action by the American Studies Association to boycott Israeli Universities threatens to undermine this core commitment and the collaborations and intellectual inquiry through which it operates. We oppose it in sprit and in practice and encourage our faculty to range freely in their scholarship and creative work. In particular, our long-standing commitment to working with colleagues and academic institutions in Israel remains important to us as a community of scholars and to those for whom this research may present life-saving solutions. Open discourse, intellectual skepticism, and deep engagement rather than exclusion remain the surest ways to advancing knowledge and understanding.

John A. Fry
President