Six presidents of research universities planning joint trip to Iran

Inside Higher Ed wrote on Monday:

Six presidents of research universities on Friday announced plans for a joint trip to Iran next month to meet with academic leaders and students there. The presidents are: Jared Cohon of Carnegie Mellon University; David Leebron of Rice University; J. Bernard Machen of the University of Florida; C.D. Mote Jr. of the University of Maryland at College Park; David Skorton of Cornell University; and Larry Vanderhoef of the University of California at Davis. They will be joined by Robert M. Berdahl, president of the Association of American Universities, which is coordinating the trip. The announcement comes at a time that many academics in the United States are concerned about incidents involving the detention of scholars in the country. Currently, U.S. officials are pushing for the release of Esha Momeni, a graduate student at California State University at Northridge, who is being held in prison in Iran, where she was doing research on the women's movement there. A spokesman for the AAU said that this issue is one "of great concern, and we're making inquiries."

Related post: Letter of American Association of University Professors to the Iranian officials about Esha Momeni