We write this letter as honorary doctors at Roskilde University to express our concern about the dismissal of Professor Michelle Pace and the questions that this raises about academic freedom, freedom of expression, due process, and political repression at the university.

Recent reporting by Danish newspaper Politiken has raised questions about both the highly irregular process and the motivation behind Professor Pace’s dismissal.

Professor Pace is an internationally recognized scholar, award-winning teacher, and trusted colleague, who has worked at Roskilde University for twelve years. In December 2025, she was dismissed following her public criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, criticism of Danish migration policy, and failure to identify student activists to university management during a crackdown on the Palestine solidarity movement on campus.

Internal emails obtained by Politiken through freedom-of-information requests show members of university management actively seeking grounds to dismiss her. Shortly before Christmas 2025, she was dismissed based on accusations of being “uncooperative” and showing “uncollegial behaviour.” Allegations that she vehemently denies. Politiken’s coverage raises serious questions about whether the process was impartial, proportionate and consistent with the professional standards.

When such an abrupt dismissal follows closely upon outspoken political criticism, refusal to identify student activists, and a process in which university management was actively seeking grounds for termination, it creates a chilling effect for others. Scholars and students come to understand that speaking publicly on the genocide in Gaza, the Danish government’s xenophobic migration policies, and other contentious political questions may carry professional or institutional consequences.

The issues raised by Professor Pace’s dismissal thus extend far beyond the fate of a single scholar. At stake are the conditions under which academic freedom and political dissent are exercised. A university worthy of the name must be a place in which scholars can pursue research, criticise governments and institutions, participate in public controversy, and take positions on questions of profound political and moral importance without fearing professional retaliation. Students, likewise, must be able to organise, protest and engage in political debate, subject to the ordinary limits imposed by law and by the rights and safety of others, without being placed under inappropriate surveillance or pressure.

For Roskilde University these principles carry particular significance. RUC was founded on traditions of critical scholarship, interdisciplinarity, democratic participation and engagement with the major political and social questions of the day. Its willingness to challenge orthodoxies rather than simply reproduce them has long been central to its distinctive identity.

We call on the leadership and Board of Roskilde University to:

1. Reinstate Professor Michelle Pace;

2. Provide a full and transparent account of the process leading to Professor Pace’s dismissal;

3. Clarify the circumstances in which researchers were asked to identify students involved in Palestine solidarity activities;

4. Reaffirm unequivocally Roskilde University’s commitment to academic freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of political association for staff and students.

As honorary doctors of Roskilde University, we value our association with an institution whose traditions have included intellectual independence, democratic participation and the courage to think differently. It is because we value that association that we believe the University must address this case openly and urgently. We urge the Rector and Board to act accordingly.

Signed,

Nancy Fraser, Professor Emerita of Philosophy and Political Theory, The New School, New York City, USA

Bob Jessop, Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Social Theorist, Lancaster University, UK

Ann Phoenix, Professor of Psychosocial Studies, University College London

Erik Swyngedouw, Professor of Human Geography and Social Theorist, University of Manchester

Jean Lave, Professor Emerita of Social Anthropology and Learning Theory, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Göran Therborn, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Cambridge, UK

Jacek Waluk, Professor of Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences

Silvia Gherardi, Professor of Sociology and Organization Studies, University of Trento

Derek Gregory, Professor Emeritus of Geography, University of British Columbia

Mimi Sheller, Portland, Maine