Our community will soon be joined by Prof. Elisabeth Ayuk-Etang, a Cameroonian scholar of Anglophone literature whose academic freedom, livelihood, and life have been threatened by a civil war raging in her home country since 2017, which intensified last year. Prof. Ayuk-Etang will be the first “Scholar at Risk” (SAR) to be hosted by UCSB thanks to a grant she has received from the “Scholar Rescue Fund” (SRF) and funding provided by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and the Council of Deans.
The defense of academic freedom is a core mission of our Association, and our Board supported the creation of the SAR-SRF Hosting Program when it was initiated in 2018-19. At the time, an International Visiting Scholars Fund was established to help scholars at risk with the expenses that would not be covered by the SRF and EVC grants in our very expensive community. The time for transforming our commitments into deeds of solidarity has come: the “SAR-SRF Hosting Committee” has put out a call for $50,000 to be raised by June 1 to help Prof. Ayuk-Etang and her family (husband and 10-year-old triplets) pay for her accommodation in North Campus through June 2023. All contributions above the $50,000 goal will be kept in the fund for future scholars at risk.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR TAX-FREE DONATION NOW!
1) ‘Free of charge’ transportation (car, bicycles, etc..)
2) Volunteering to connect Prof. Ayuk-Etang’s 10-year-old triplets with kids of their age
3) Volunteering to host Prof. Ayuk-Etang and her family for dinner or lunch
4) Volunteering to take Prof. Ayuk-Etang around the Santa Barbara area
The emotional needs of scholars forced to flee their countries may sometimes be deeper and more urgent than financial ones. Let us all make Prof. Ayuk-Etang feel welcome in our midst.