College presidents from 170 schools including Harvard and Princeton sign letter rebuking Trump administration ‘overreach’
The higher education community is pushing back against the Trump administration’s treatment of colleges and universities. On Tuesday, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), a global membership organization, published a joint statement condemning the administration’s ongoing threats to withhold federal funding from colleges and universities.
“We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education,” the letter reads. “We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion,” it said, adding: “We must reject the coercive use of public research funding.”
More than 170 university, college, and scholarly society presidents signed the letter, including those from the Ivy League institutions of Harvard, Brown, and Princeton, as well as heads of liberal arts schools and community colleges.
The statement comes as tensions between higher education institutions and the current administration have been heating up in recent weeks. On Monday, Harvard University said it filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging Trump’s decision to freeze $2.2 billion in funding was unlawful.
“Today, we stand for the values that have made American higher education a beacon for the world,” Harvard President Alan Garber said in a statement announcing the suit. “We stand for the truth that colleges and universities across the country can embrace and honor their legal obligations and best fulfill their essential role in society without improper government intrusion.”
In its complaint, Harvard accused the government of failing to follow procedures set by federal civil rights laws and said the government was attempting to “coerce and control” the university by denying necessary funding.
The federal funding freeze came after Harvard refused to bend to the administration’s demands, which included giving the administration information on students who may be participating in political activism it disagrees with; banning masks on campus; and ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
“The gravy train of federal assistance to institutions like Harvard, which enrich their grossly overpaid bureaucrats with tax dollars from struggling American families is coming to an end,” White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said in a statement on Monday, per CNN. “Taxpayer funds are a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege.”
As the Trump administration has revoked student visas and detained students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses, which the administration has called antisemitic, the reaction from colleges and universities has differed broadly from school to school. While some institutions have stood fiercely behind their detained students, others have seemed to bow to Trump’s demands. Columbia University has expelled, suspended, and revoked the degrees of some students who had participated in political protests.
However, Tuesday’s letter might be a sign of what’s to come, as it is the largest collective effort among university and college heads to push back against the administration thus far.