Vice-Chancellor’s Seminar: Charting a Future Course for Science in America – and Academic Freedom in Sweden
- Date
- 21 May 2026, 15:45–17:15
- Location
- University Main Building, Lecture Hall IX
- Type
- Seminar
- Organiser
- the Vice-Chancellor
- Contact person
- Anna Ledin
Welcome to a seminar on research policy in the United States and Sweden, and on how political forces shape the conditions under which research is conducted. The seminar highlights what is at stake for universities and democratic societies when academic freedom is challenged.
This seminar will explore the relationship between research and politics, examining how scientific knowledge informs public policy — and how political forces, in turn, shape the conditions under which science operates.
Topics will include the current state of science in the United States and its far-reaching influence on global research and innovation, as well as the state of academic freedom in Sweden and beyond, highlighting why these principles matter in an increasingly polarized world.
Ultimately, the seminar will discuss what is at stake for universities, researchers, and democratic societies when the freedom to pursue knowledge is challenged.
Program
- Marcia McNutt, President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and honorary doctor at Uppsala University.
- Anna-Sara Lind, Professor of Public Law at Uppsala University and Special Investigator on academic freedom for researchers and teachers in Sweden.
- Joakim Palme and Leif Pagrotsky will share their reflections.
- Dag Blanck will moderate the seminar.
Coffee served from 15:45. The seminar begins at 16:00.
All staff and students are welcome. No prior registration.
The seminar will be held in English and will not be streamed.
Welcome!