The UWI convened a Vice-Chancellor’s Forum addressing the urgent threats to academic freedom and the evolving responsibilities of universities in sustainable development. Held at the UWI Regional Headquarters in Jamaica and streamed via UWItv, the event brought together university leaders, international scholars, government officials, and students to examine how higher education must respond to a rapidly changing global landscape. Central to the discussions was the challenge of maintaining academic freedom and institutional autonomy amid declining enrolments and rising financial pressures. Professor Aldrie Henry-Lee set the tone, highlighting the need for universities to protect open inquiry despite these external challenges. Professor Canute Thompson questioned who controls the direction of research, emphasising the importance of ethical knowledge production free from undue influence. Panellists shared insights from across the globe, including reflections on the dangers of political interference, the corporatisation of education, and the precarious position of graduate students. Professor R. Clive Landis pointed to academic freedom as essential to peaceful discourse, while Dr Leahcim Semaj called for scholarship to serve as a tool for liberation rather than neutrality. The forum concluded with a strong consensus: universities must defend academic freedom and autonomy to remain engines of innovation and serve society’s broader goals of sustainable development.