These are troubled times for academia, to say the least, especially in the United States. For several months now, academic freedom and autonomy have been under attack by the Trump administration south of our border. Not only has it withdrawn federal funding for universities with equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) programs, it has eliminated funding from the National Science Foundation (the U.S. equivalent of the Fonds de recherche du Québec) for research activities that look at themes such as gender inequality or green technologies or that include words banned by the Trump administration, such as women, climate science, gender, Gulf of Mexico, minority, pollution, and social justice.
In this context, I would like to reiterate the commitment of INRS and its community to academic freedom and autonomy, and to the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion. We firmly believe in these values, which are aimed at giving everyone unhindered access to the spaces of emancipation inherent to academic institutions. By continuing to view research through the lens of these values, we can ensure that the issues and realities of society as a whole, including historically marginalized groups, are taken into account.
Let’s affirm our commitment to free, ethical, rigorous and inclusive research!