Academic Freedom

'Unmasking, Naming, and Shaming': This Academic Freedom Group Is Pushing for Campus Censorship

Public records obtained by City Journal show the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom has taken a bizarrely censorial approach to its mission.

Ari Shtein | 6.16.2026 1:20 PM

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(Illustration: American Association of University Professors/Monkey Business Images/Dreamstime)

A premier institution dedicated to advancing academic freedom is reportedly working to limit free speech on college campuses.

In February 2024, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which sets professional standards in higher education, launched the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom (CDAF). The center, according to its mission statement, is "committed to preserving and expanding conditions that make it possible to work, teach, learn, create, and share knowledge in ways that promote the common good."

But new revelations from City Journal indicate that the CDAF is not living up to its name; instead, its membership has taken a rather narrow view of what knowledge and which methods "promote the common good"—especially at........

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