More than 170 higher education leaders condemn ‘undue government intrusion' into campus affairs
'As leaders of America's colleges, universities, and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education,' the statement reads. 'We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses.'
The statement added that higher education leaders must 'reject the coercive use of public research funding.'
New England college and university leaders who signed the statement include the presidents of Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Wellesley College, Tufts University Amherst College, Brown University, Holy Cross, Williams College, Smith College, Clark University, Wheaton College, Mount Wachusett Community College, Wesleyan University, Bowdoin College, Bates College, and Colby College.
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Up until recently,
'What's at stake here is freedom,' Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan, said in a recent interview. 'If you give up your freedoms to someone who wants more power, they're going to take more of your freedom.'
Last week Garber became the unexpected leader of higher education's resistance movement against the federal government when Harvard, the nation's oldest and wealthiest university,
'No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,' Garber said in a letter last week.
On Monday, the university sued the Trump administration, arguing the government's use of research funding cuts as leverage to 'micromanage' Harvard's affairs represents an unconstitutional abuse of federal power.
Tuesday's joint statement from the American Association of Colleges and Universities said although the nation's higher education sector includes a diverse set of institutions with varied student populations, all US colleges have one thing in common: 'the essential freedom to determine, on academic grounds, whom to admit and what is taught, how, and by whom.'
'Our colleges and universities share a commitment to serve as centers of open inquiry where, in their pursuit of truth, faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation,' the statement reads. 'Because of these freedoms, American institutions of higher learning are essential to American prosperity and serve as productive partners with government in promoting the common good.'
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The statements also defended the role of universities as economic engines, research hubs, and important pillars of democracy. The letter calls for 'constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.'
'The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society,' the statement says.
Hilary Burns can be reached at
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