36th Annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom
“The Geopolitics of Academic Freedom: The View from the Frontline”
The annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson (DMN) Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom will take place on Thursday, November 5, 2026, from 4:00 to 5:30 pm. The event will support both in-person attendance and a livestream. Light refreshments will be provided for those who can attend in person. This lecture is sponsored by the Faculty Senate as a showcase event underscoring the U-M community’s collective interest in academic freedom.
The invited speaker is Michael Ignatieff, who served as President and Rector of Central European University (CEU) between 2016 and 2021, the turbulent years which saw CEU’s expulsion from Budapest and its re-establishment in Vienna. He now is a professor in CEU’s department of historical studies. Ignatieff came to CEU after serving as Edward R. Murrow Chair of Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Abstract:
“Geopolitics of Academic Freedom:
The View from the Frontline”
In 2017, Central European University in Budapest became the first free institution in Europe to be targeted by an authoritarian populist regime. Michael Ignatieff was Rector of CEU and led the fight against Victor Orban’s campaign to declare the university illegal and then have it expelled. Orban’s eventual victory—successfully forcing the university to relocate to Vienna—set the pattern for the attacks on ‘woke’ ‘liberal’ institutions in the United States. In a lecture commemorating McCarthy era battles to defend academic freedom, Ignatieff identifies the ideological and geopolitical factors that have made the battle to defend academic freedom a global challenge.
Speakers
Michael Ignatieff, Keynote Speaker, Professor Emeritus, Central European University
Robert Mickey, Panelist, Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and Faculty Associate, Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
Tatjana Papić, Panelist, Professor of Law, Union University Belgrade Law School and Visiting Professor, Law School, University of Michigan
Kentaro Toyama, Moderator, Faculty Senate Chair, W K Kellogg Professor of Community Information and Professor of
Information, School of Information
Provost Laurie McCauley, William K and Mary Anne Najjar Professor of Periodontics, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor of Dentistry, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry and Professor of Pathology, Medical School
Program
3:30: Doors Open
Light refreshments will be provided:
Cookies, macaroons, cannoli, cheesecake, vegan/gluten free cupcakes, coffee, tea, and sparkling water
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Main Program
4:00: Introductory Remarks
Kentaro Toyama, Chair, Faculty Senate, W K Kellogg Professor of Community Information, School of Information
Laurie McCauley, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
4:15: Lecture
Michael Ignatieff, Professor Emeritus, Central European University
4:45: Panel
Michael Ignatieff, Professor Emeritus, Central European University
Robert Mickey, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan
Tatjana Papić, Professor of Law, Union University of Belgrade/ University of Michigan
Moderator: Kentaro Toyama, Faculty Senate Chair, Professor of Community Information, University of Michigan
About Michael Ignatieff
An international commentator on contemporary issues of democracy, human rights, and governance and a Canadian citizen, Ignatieff is also an award-winning writer, teacher, former politician, and historian with a deep knowledge of Central and Eastern Europe.
Ignatieff received his doctorate in history from Harvard University and has held academic posts at Kings College, Cambridge, the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia. He served in the Canadian Parliament and was Leader of the Liberal Party. His books include The Needs of Strangers (1984), Scar Tissue (1992), Blood and Belonging (1993), The Warrior’s Honour (1997), Isaiah Berlin (1998), The Rights Revolution (2000), Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry (2001), The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror (2004), Fire and Ashes: Success and Failure in Politics (2013), and The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World (2017). His latest book is On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times (2021)
He serves on the Board of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the advisory council of Ethics in AI at Oxford. He is the recipient of the Dan David Prize for the defense of academic freedom in 2021, the Symons Medal of the National Confederation Centre in Canada in 2023, and in 2024 the Princess of Asturias Prize in the Social Sciences. He holds fourteen honorary degrees.
Poster design by Rebekah Modrak, Professor of Art and Design, Penny W Stamps School of Art and Design
Co-Sponsors
The annual DMN Lecture series is supported by an endowed fund made possible through the generous contribution of an anonymous benefactor.
This year’s event is also made possible through the support of the LSA International Institute, the LSA Donia Human Rights Center, and the LSA Program in International and Comparative Studies.
Related Events
The Conference on Academic Freedom and Responsibility at Ohio State University
Tuesday, February 9–Wednesday, February 10
Drinko Hall, Moritz College of Law
Columbus, Ohio
“The goal of our conference is to contribute to public education by enhancing understanding of the history, philosophy, and legal character of academic freedom. We therefore encourage speakers to prepare public-facing talks with pedagogical intent on topics concerning the nature of and threats to academic freedom. Recognizing that academic freedom is a contested field of scholarly inquiry and an urgent issue for academic communities, we also welcome interventions into current debates. We aim to organize our conference in a way that will encourage critical thinking and genuine discussion reflecting distinct positions concerning academic freedom.”
The conference organizers are currently seeking abstracts. The deadline for abstract submission is Monday, November 2. To submit an abstract and further details, please visit the conference’s webpage.