Academic Freedom Is on the Ropes The attacks are coming from both the right and the left. Stephen Voss for The Chronicle The Faculty This article is adapted from a new Chronicle collection, “Academic Freedom Now: Why Colleges Should Be Worried,” which explores how to navigate these fractious times. The collection is available in the Chronicle Store. Many scholars and observers of higher education, even those who may agree on little else, agree on this: Academic freedom is on the ropes. “Academic freedom is in the worst position of my career, and perhaps the worst condition it has been in decades — perhaps since the Red Scare,” says Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a nonprofit committed to the rights of free speech on college campuses.