A French university receives 8 American researchers rejecting Trump’s policy

A few days ago, he arrived in France, the first American academic to reject the policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration. Last week, the University of Eix Marseille revealed eight researchers residing in the United States who were in the last stage of joining the university’s “safe place for science” program, which aims to attract researchers who are afraid to reduce funding under the Trump administration.

The prestigious French University provides a promise to the arriving researchers with a “brighter future” in the sunny coastal city overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

While France and the European Union launched plans to millions to attract researchers since Trump took over the presidency of the United States last January, the initiative of the University of “Eix Marseille” was the first of its kind in the country, which means that the eight researchers who were welcomed are considered one of the first academic refugees planning to leave the United States and work in France.

Dark period

Speaking from the Astronomical Physics Laboratory, the President of the University, Eric Burton, likened the situation to the position of European academics who fled the persecution of Nazi Germany before and during the Second World War and during it, and said: “What is happening here today has nothing to do with another dark period in our history.”

Burton and former French President Francois Hollande pressed to create a “scientific refugee” situation.

Since most of the researchers who attended Burton’s speech have not yet signed their decades with the University of “Eix Marseille”, they demanded that their identities not be revealed to protect their research positions in the United States if they ended up not accepting them or if they refuse to present the university.

Among the applicants (James), a climate scientist at a prestigious research university in America, and his wife, who is studying the intersection of judicial systems and democrats, James said they were applying for the demand because they “work in targeted areas”, and could be vulnerable to reducing financing.

While James, who did not want to use his title, he did not count himself and his “refugee” academic colleagues, he expressed his deep concern about the future of academic research under Trump’s rule.

attacks

Brian Sandberg, a history professor at the Northern Illinois University who is looking at climate change during the 16th to 19th century, was a year in Marseille as a visiting professor, but during his participation in a workshop in the city during last March, he learned of the Eix Marseille University program, and decided to apply for enrollment.

“The entire scientific research and education system in the United States is already attacking,” Sandberg said.

The university stated that 298 researchers from prestigious universities, such as Stanford and “Yale”, have submitted requests to join the program, despite the university’s lack of popularity outside France compared to some Parisian universities.

Big step

For his part, Burton said that the large number of applicants indicates “urgency” the situation across the Atlantic Ocean. The university has already allocated 15 million euros to pay the cost of the program, and presses the French government to double this number, which will enable it to increase the number of employees planned in the program from almost 20 to 39 employees.

However, moving to a new country is not the English language, its official language is a big step. There is also the issue of salaries that are less for academics in France compared to the United States, and the fact that there is less money for research.

Salary variability

An American biological anthropologist, who preferred not to be named, said that she is still awaiting the details of the contract from the University of “Eix Marseille”, before putting the pen on paper due to the salary variation, although it is comfortable because the cost of living is less in France, especially if we take into account that teaching her two children in Marseille will be free.

The President of the University insisted that the participants in the “Safe Science” program will get the same wages that the French researchers receive. The statement sought to calm fears within the French academic community that the money will now focus on attracting American scientists while local researchers have long complained about insufficient financing.

But the biological anthropologist said that a more comfortable life could compensate for a drop in salary, explaining that “there will be much less pressure in the political and academic point of view in general.”

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Classic education

The University of “Ax Marseille” is an independent educational institution funded by the French state, founded under the French Guidance Law of 1968, to reform higher education, and this institution developed from the University of “Provence”, which was founded by Louis II King of Provence in 1409 universities in general. From the 15th century to the 18th century, it developed as an institution for classic education, free arts, theology, law and medicine, and was canceled during the French Revolution, and it was re -established and became known by its current name.

. 298 researchers from prestigious universities submitted requests to join the program, despite the lack of popularity of the University of “Eix Marseille” outside France.