Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

An independent non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

Nicaraguan government forces many of its universities to close

Numerous Nicaraguan universities have been taken over or shut down by the government over the past few years, accounting for nearly half of its higher education institutions. The Committee is concerned about the consequences of such suppression and for the future of academia in Nicaragua.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/half-nicaraguas-universities-shut-down-government

October 18, 2023

Asamblea Nacional de Nicaragua
Complejo Legislativo Carlos Núñez
Avenida Peatonal General Augusto C. Sandino
Apartado Postal: 4659
PBX: (505) 22768430 – 60
Managua, Nicaragua

To Whom It May Concern:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We are writing in regard to the numerous university closures in Nicaragua over the past two years. In August, for example, one of the top Central American universities, the Jesuit Central American University (UCA), was seized, closed, and, soon after, rebranded. More recently, the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE) had its assets frozen and its campus taken over by government officials.

The Committee is concerned by such retaliation by the Nicaraguan government against its universities, as it violates the right of its own citizens to pursue higher education. It also prevents academics from accessing new knowledge and from continuing valuable research. We write to urge you and anyone who can help to appeal to the Nicaraguan government to grant its universities the rights and freedoms all such institutions in the world require to function.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We will be closely following developments in this case.

Sincerely,


Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

CC:

Hugo Rodriguez
Ambassador to Nicaragua
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
600 19th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036 USA

Kevin O’Reilly
Chargé d’Affaires
United States Embassy in Managua
Kilometer 5.5 Carretera Sur
Managua, Nicaragua 10000

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

Committee of Concerned Scientists

c/o Alexandra R. Bender, Executive Director
P.O. Box 273
Mountainhome, PA 18342
Phone: (570) 994-2093
abender@concernedscientists.org