In a special to the National Post, Peter MacKinnon—former president of the University of Saskatchewan, Athabasca University, and Dalhousie University—writes that the status of universities is being undermined as they increasingly become politicized. MacKinnon argues that universities have been respected because their “missions and goals were seen to transcend political and social differences among the populations they serve.” Additionally, he writes that the search for truth—a fundamental purpose of universities—requires prerequisites such as freedom of inquiry and expression, tolerance for differences, and institutional neutrality. MacKinnon argues that these prerequisites are being broken down by those who try to silence others and by the perception that universities are aligning with ideological or social justice goals. “Universities as institutions are not about social justice; they are about the search for truth, for which they must stay out of politics,” concludes MacKinnon.
