Academic freedom breached at Thompson Rivers University, investigation finds

A Canadian Association of University Teachers investigation (CAUT) intothe allegedimproper suspension of a B.C. professor has found Thompson Rivers Universityadministration's actionsbreached academic freedom.

In an emailed statement Tuesday, the investigation committee said it foundthe Kamloops universityappears to suffer a broad institutional weakness when it comes to understanding academic freedom.

Economics professor Derek Pynewas suspended in July2018, by the administration following a study he published witha peer-reviewedjournal, in which Pyneallegedmany of his colleagues at the Kamloops university were using what he called "predatory journals" academic publications with little-to-no peer review processes that publish almost anything for a fee.

TRU failed to understand academic freedom: report

In its investigative report, the committee citesthe right of academics to criticize their administration and their institution asa widely recognized feature of academic freedom.It found the school failed to understand academic freedombeyond a narrow scope of supporting faculty members' freedom to pursueresearch and publishtheir findings.

The committee makes several recommendations, including removing the constraints placed on Pyne's speech as a condition of his continuing employment as a faculty member.

Pyne published an article in April 2017 titledThe Rewards ofPredatory Publications at a Small Business School.He did not nameany professors or the university on which he based his research inthe peer-reviewed Journal of Scholarly Publishing.

The article said 16 of 27 professors with researchresponsibilities paid so-called predatory journals that don'trequire research to be peer reviewed to publish their work up to theend of 2015 and that they landed promotions.

Response from TRU

In a statement to CBC News, TRU President Brett Fairbairnsays the institution did not participate in the CAUT process and would not comment on the content of the report.

He went on to say thatCAUTis a third party with no jurisdiction.

"Because of this, [it] does not have access to information or evidence that TRU and its unions have much of it considered private information under provincial legislation. We cannot share such private information with CAUT, and therefore, its report and findings would be based on limited information," Fairbairn said.

He said that TRU has "thorough processes in place" for academic freedom and that "all of us as academics agreethat academic freedom is foundational to the existence of a university."

Pyne, who returned to the school in January, declined a request for comment.