Dr. Nancy Olivieri
University of Toronto |
In 1995, Dr. Nancy Olivieri came to believe,
based on scientifically credible preliminary evidence, that a drug being
administered in a clinical trial Dr. Olivieri had supervised might cause
harm to potentially fatally ill children. When Dr. Olivieri wished to disclose
these concerns, the sponsoring drug company threatened "all legal remedies"
against her. Dr. Olivieri fulfilled her ethical obligations, despite the
legal warnings, but her institutions, the Hospital for Sick Children and
the University of Toronto, did not provide effective support either for
her rights, the principles of research and clinical ethics, or academic
freedom. Then, it was discovered that the University was negotiating a $20
million donation from the same drug company who threatened Dr. Olivieri
with legal action. After enduring years of harassment, the Ontario College
of Physicians and Surgeons in 2001 exonerated Dr. Olivieri of all the false
charges and described her conduct as "exemplary." |
Dr. Ignacio Chapela
U.C. Berkeley |
Dr. Ignacio Chapela was an outspoken critic of
the University of California Berkeley's ties to the biotechnology industry,
and had his tenure denied after he and a fellow Berkeley scientist, published
an article demonstrating that native corn in Mexico had been contaminated
by genetically modified corn. |
Dr. Ann Clark
University of Guelph
|
Dr. Ann Clark is a professor at the University
of Guelph in the Department of Plant Agriculture. She will speak on the
close relationship between industry and academia, while highlighting the
enherent threats to academic freedom that come with such partnerships. More
info coming soon. |
Dr. David Noble
York University |
Dr. David Noble is a co-founder of the National Coalition for Universities
in the Public Interest. Noble's politics and bold tactics have given him
a rocky career. He has been fired by both MIT and the Smithsonian Institution
and was blocked from giving the commencement address at Harvey Mudd College
because the administration claimed he was "anti-technology".
In his 1998 paper Digital Diploma Mills, Noble writes: "universities
are not only undergoing a technological transformation. Beneath that change,
and camoflaged by it, lies another: the commercialization of higher education".
At considerable personal risk, Noble has made his case that high technology
at universities is often used not to improve teaching and research, but
to overcontrol and overwork junior faculty and graduate students, expropriate
the intellectual property of leading faculty, and, through various mechanisms
such as the recorded lecture, replace the visions and voices of less-prestigious
faculty with the second-hand and reified product of academic "superstars".
|
Ian Mauro
University of Manitoba |
Ian Mauro and University of Manitoba professor Stéphane McLachlan
researched the impact of genetically modified crops on farming and in
2002 compiled their findings in a documentary entitled Seeds of Change:
Farmers, Biotechnology and the New Face of Agriculture (which will be
screened at this event). When it was time to disseminate the research
documentary, the University of Manitoba administration effectively blocked
its release. The experience of Mauro and McLachlan is an object lesson
in how a university’s claim to intellectual property ownership can
interfere with academic freedom.
|
Scott Gilbert
Central Student Association |
Scott Gilbert is an environmental engineering student at the
University of Guelph and an executive member of the university's undergraduate
student union, the Central Student Association (CSA). He has been deeply
involved in student politics for several years through his work both with
the CSA and the Guelph Chapter of Science for Peace, which he started as
a student club in 2002. His work with these groups primarily involves bringing
in speakers and screening documentary films on a range of issues relating
to social justice, politics, and current global events. Mr. Gilbert will
provide case studies of corporate influence on university campuses, and
provide examples of how free speech is not always held paramount at Canada's
academic institutions. |
Documentary film:
Seeds of Change |
Seeds of Change, along with farmer perspectives, also features interviews
with representatives from agri-business, with scientists
studying GM crops, and with activists like Vandana Shiva, David Suzuki,
and Percy Schmeiser. Just as the content of Seeds of Change is controversial,
the production of the film was mired in its own controversy, as the filmmakers
spent three long years battling with the U of M administration to bring
this important documentary film before the public. This occurred while the
university was secretly negotiating with biotech giant Monsanto to have
the company's Canadian headquarters established in the university's "SmartPark"
complex. Read more by clicking
here.
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