Dr Joanna Williams will deliver the next Vice-Chancellor’s Esteem Lecture on Thursday 25 February. The title of the lecture is “Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity”. It will be held in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1 and will start at 18.30. The event is open to all and is free to attend.

This lecture will explore the myriad threats to academic freedom today that emerge from within as well as outside of universities. Dr Joanna Williams will consider the enduring importance of academic freedom, not just to the liberty of individual scholars but to the fundamental purpose of higher education and the nature of the university.

Dr Joanna Williams is a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education and Academic Practice at the University of Kent. Her latest book, ‘Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity: Confronting the Fear of Knowledge’, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in January this year. Her previous book, ‘Consuming Higher Education: Why Learning Can’t Be Bought’ came out in 2012. Joanna is a frequent commentator on higher education in the national mainstream media and she is the education editor of Spiked.

For more information about the lecture, please visit: http://www.kent.ac.uk/events/esteem/2015-16/lectures/williams-joanna.html