‘Eliminating the unchecked imbalance in power at universities is a major challenge awaiting us’, the article states. Photo Shutterstock This year’s AcedemiKus was awarded to Susanne Täuber, a business economist at Groning University, for a poignant article in de Groene Amsterdammer on intimidation and abuse of power at universities.
In the article, Täuber and her colleagues describe how universities’ social safety policies may have an adverse effect and lead to more malpractices. Moreover, the article describes in detail haunting examples of how the many flexible contracts foster inequality and abuse of power. The authors argue that these intimidating practices and institutional gaslighting (a term describing a form of abuse where a person’s perception of reality is systematically denied or dismissed, ed.) form a grave risk to academic freedom.
The AcademieKus (formally: AOb-award) has been awarded annually on Valentine’s Day since 2017 to someone who has contributed to science in an extraordinary manner. (Source: Hoger Onderwijs Persbureau)
