Queen鈥檚 was very well represented at the Conference of the Magna Charta Universitatum, held in England at King鈥檚 College London last November. The annual event, which in recent years has taken place in centres as far apart as Washington, D.C., and Lodz, Poland, commemorates the 1988 signing in Bologna, Italy, of the Magna Charta Universitatum, a declaration and affirmation of the fundamental principles upon which the mission of universities should be based. Whereas in some years the conference location has been chosen to draw attention to and address local challenges to academic freedom and institutional autonomy, this year the choice of London indicated a recognition that such challenges are widespread and that globally the academy might be said to be under threat. Previously in this column I have taken note of difficulties faced by institutions in the United States, as well as closer to home.
Our university signed the Magna Charta declaration in 2019 and we had a hand in its updating for 2020 and beyond. This year in London I was proud to be with Rector Niki Boytchuk-Hale and Trustee Eva Egron-Polak as a further 36 institutions signed, bringing the total to well over 1,000. That number, as noted by Sjur Bergan 鈥 former head of the education department at the Council of Europe and keynote speaker at the signing ceremony 鈥 was 鈥渁 call to engagement rather than to retreat鈥 as universities face skepticism or even outright opposition to their commitment 鈥渢o helping develop our society locally, nationally, and globally.鈥1 It was especially gratifying to be present as two other strong Canadian institutions 鈥 the Universities of Toronto and Waterloo 鈥 signed the declaration.
In what way can such a ceremony be thought of as a 鈥渃all to engagement?鈥 At one level, of course, a mass declaration on the importance of academic freedom and university autonomy is an intervention of sorts; it may not cause anything to happen, but it does signal opposition to the growing instrumentalization of higher education and attempts by governments and other parties to control what is taught, studied, or researched. Institutions that sign might therefore be said to be simply putting a stake in the ground, providing an indication of their intentions or their aspirations, the precise nature of their engagement with antagonistic forces being dictated by local issues and considerations.
In London all institutions signed the 2020 version of the Magna Charta Universitatum, which, in contrast to the 1988 text, does more than simply declare the importance of academic independence as 鈥渢he necessary precondition for human advancement through enquiry, analysis, and sound action.鈥 It includes an acknowledgment that universities 鈥渉ave a responsibility to engage with and respond to the aspirations and challenges of the world and to the communities they serve, to benefit humanity and contribute to sustainability.鈥2
As I run my eye down the table of contents for this issue of the Review, I am struck by the many different ways in which the Queen鈥檚 community continues to live up to that responsibility. We can and should be proud, even as we look forward to the next challenge.
1 Bergan鈥檚 address appeared as an article in University World News, 鈥,鈥 on Nov. 13, 2025.
2 The text can be found at