In the wake of the failed academic boycott attempt at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NIJ reports that “Norwegian business tycoon Olav Thon has decided that due to the politicizing of NTNU he will no longer finance a professorate at that institution.” More here. Meanwhile, in case you don’t know who Mr. Thon is, or how much he is worth, here is some background from Forbes.
Archive for the 'NTNU' Category
It’s good news. Dare I say, it’s great news. Here’s Ha’aretz (the typos are theirs:)
An academic boycott of Israel in Norway was averted on Thursday, when the executive board of the University of Trondheim unanimously decided to reject the controversial move. “The vote resulted in total victory,” said Professor Bjorn Alsberg, a member of the board of the Trondheim-based Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Alsberg, a chemistry professor, led a campaigned at the Norwegian city against the boycott.
Read the rest. Meanwhile, here’s a note from Kristian of the truly excellent NIJ blog, left in our comments, but deserving of the widest possible audience:
“What we just have seen is as rare as it is beautiful, with people standing up against an organized network of resourceful people who have been demonizing Israel for decades. This was a Norwegian thing and in the end, only Norwegians could solve it. Yet we could not have done so without all the international support. My heartfelt thanks to all of you.
Stay beautiful!”
A few developments in recent days could reasonably lead one to conclude that, come Thursday, the Board of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) will vote against the proposal for a blanket boycott of Israeli academia, culture and research. Perhaps most significantly, as relayed by the indispensable NIJ blog, Norwegian Minister of Higher Education and Research Tora Aasland, a member of the Socialist Left Party, “sees a boycott as a violation of legal practice.”
Continue reading ‘NTNU Boycott Campaign: Will They or Won’t They?’
Below is a statement from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) opposing the proposed academic boycott of Israel at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
Our friends and colleagues at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim will soon be voting on whether to initiate a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. Faculty members in Norway have already spoken out eloquently and on point about the reasons to defeat this proposal. Because the decision has the potential to have an impact on debates at academic institutions in many other countries, we would like to join our many Norwegian counterparts who oppose the action.
Continue reading ‘US Professors Oppose NTNU Boycott Campaign’
According to The Scientist magazine, which can be considered an authority on such matters, the Weizmann Institute of Science, located in Rehovot, Israel, comes in at number two on a list of the ten leading international academic institutions working in the life sciences. That ranking will doubtless be received with justifiable glee at the venerable Institute, but I wonder how it will be interpreted at another academic institution which didn’t make the list: the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), located in the city of Trondheim.
Continue reading ‘A-ha! Norwegian University is Latest Focus of Academic Boycott’
