Four decades on from the Year of the Student, when university campuses were sites of protest and dissent, it is crucial to consider how the involvement of university academics in activist causes has changed. Using social movement frameworks this article examines how organisational, political and cultural contexts have hindered social and political activism by New Zealand academics. Declining resources and increased accountability mechanisms in the tertiary education sector have intersected with a cultural context dominated by pragmatism and instrumentalism to constrain activism by academics. Despite these constraints, the author argues that it is crucial for academics to be involved in forms of day-to-day resistance and to establish ongoing connections to activist organisations in order to challenge the hegemonic narratives of marketisation and managerialism which are impacting on all parts of New Zealand society, including universities.