Latest news with #ACallforConstructiveEngagement
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lewis & Clark president speaks out on Trump's actions against higher education
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — On April 22, college presidents across the country denouncing the executive actions threatening higher education funding. Entitled 'A Call for Constructive Engagement,' the letter came out against 'unprecedented government overreach and political interference' and 'coercive use of public research funding' in higher education. More than 300 college and university presidents have signed the letter, including several here in Oregon. Lewis & Clark President Robin Holmes-Sullivan was among the first to sign it. She is the 26th president of the college, taking the helm in 2022 after stints at the University of California and the University of Oregon. She is also Lewis & Clark's first female president, and person of color to have the title. Holmes-Sullivan joined Eye on Northwest Politics to discuss how Lewis & Clark and others are fighting back against these actions by the Trump administration. Watch the full interview in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Emory & Henry ‘unsigns' national letter calling for dialogue with Trump admin on higher ed issues, cites media coverage
EMORY, Va. (WJHL) — While several hundred colleges and universities have added their names since Tuesday's release of a statement opposing 'unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education,' one school has reversed course — Emory & Henry University. A spokesperson for the school, Lois Williams, told News Channel 11 late Friday afternoon the reversal 'was the result of the reaction to the news coverage that placed Emory & Henry at the center of a divisive political debate.' Williams was referring to a Wednesday website article from a local media outlet noting Emory & Henry was the only area school on the list, with President Lou Fincher having signed it. 'The driving force behind our decision to sign the AAC&U letter was its call for constructive engagement,' Williams wrote, adding '(t)he intent was not to further divide the country on the topic of academic independence.' ETSU closes DEI office – no position cuts to occur A spokesman for the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) said Friday afternoon that Emory & Henry was the only school that had requested removal from the list of signers. The statement has received heavy news coverage at the local, national and even international levels. Leaders of close to 200 schools initially signed the 363-word statement, titled 'A Call for Constructive Engagement.' The statement doesn't specifically name President Donald Trump or his administration, but the news release accompanying it said it was 'in response to ongoing actions by the Trump administration affecting higher education.' The statement noted that signers were 'open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight.' But it expressed multiple concerns about impacts signers reject, including 'undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses' and 'the coercive use of public research funding.' The Trump administration has engaged in numerous well-publicized battles with colleges and universities, withholding some grant funding and calling for the end of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The administration claims those and other actions are designed to root out antisemitism and favoritism toward certain groups of students in violation of the civil rights of others. No other Northeast Tennessee or Southwest Virginia higher education institutions had signed as of late Friday afternoon, when the list of signers had grown to nearly 500. News Channel 11 reached out to Emory & Henry seeking comment Thursday morning, noted they had not seen Fincher's name in the alphabetical list of signatories and asked for confirmation the university had signed the statement. Friday morning, Emory & Henry responded via email. Williams said Fincher had joined the group of signers, whom she said had 'affirmed the critical role higher education plays in fostering American prosperity and underscored a shared responsibility as partners with government in advancing the common good.' Williams said the school was removed at its request 'given the lack of context provided in news coverage' about the AACU's statement and Emory & Henry's 'true position on non-partisan, academic independence.' She elaborated late Friday after more specific questions from News Channel 11. Williams wrote in an email that the school was 'not provided the opportunity to provide background or perspective … prior to publication.' Williams wrote that Emory & Henry is committed to elements of what the AACU statement encourages. 'Emory & Henry is dedicated to promoting open and collaborative dialogue to address shared challenges in a non-partisan way, and to promoting the health and vitality of our region,' Williams wrote. 'These shared core values were endorsed by numerous higher education institutions in the Commonwealth and throughout the country.' The statement claims that American colleges and universities, at their most fundamental level, 'prepare an educated citizenry to sustain our democracy. 'The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society,' it continues before calling for 'constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.' News Channel 11 checked with David Tritelli, AACU vice president for communication and public affairs, to learn how many schools' leaders had removed their names after first signing the statement. 'No other signatories have requested removal or been removed,' Tritelli replied. He added that the organization respects decisions presidents make about signing statements and that each of them 'operates within a unique context…' Tritelli noted that the number of signers had reached nearly 500, 'from 'red' and 'blue' states and representing higher education institutions of every type and size. What I think that demonstrates is the value of unity in this moment.' You can read the full statement here: A Call for Constructive Engagement by Jeff Keeling on Scribd Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SLU President signs public statement condemning Trump administration
ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University President Fred Pestello and hundreds of higher-education leaders have signed a public statement condemning President Donald Trump's administration. The statement, titled 'A Call for Constructive Engagement,' comes as higher education leaders warn of 'unprecedented government overreach and political interference,' threats they say endanger the future of American higher education. Pestello was one of more than 300 higher-education presidents to sign the statement. According to the Associated Press, the Trump administration is withholding billions in federal funding from universities in response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, urging schools to align more closely with the administration's political agenda. 'We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight,' the statement reads. 'However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live and work on our campuses.' The statement marks the first collective response from sitting university presidents since the beginning of Trump's second presidential term. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
More Than 100 Higher Ed Leaders Sign Statement Against Fed's Overreach
More than 100 university and college presidents along with the leaders of various scholarly organization issued a statement today raising their concerns about the 'unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.' Titled 'A Call for Constructive Engagement,' the statement represents a unified outcry by current college presidents about the Trump administration's escalating battle with the nation's colleges and universities. The statement grew out of meetings that had been organized by the American Association of Colleges & Universities and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to 'to take stock of the current situation and deliberate on possibilities for a unified defense of learning and higher education.' Those actions include the withdrawal or freezing of billions of dollars in federal research grants amid the administration's allegations of campus antisemitism and other civil rights violations, the detention of hundreds of international students and the revocation of their visas, a crackdown on academic or student support programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, threats to increase the tax on private university endowment earnings, investigations of gifts from foreign donors, and demands that certain institutions change their admissions practices or academic governance. The statement makes clear that the presidents and other leaders 'are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight," but it added, "however, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses." It maintains that American institutions of higher learning 'have in common the essential freedom to determine, on academic grounds, whom to admit and what is taught, how, and by whom." They share a commitment, according to the statement, 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 has already been signed by several dozen presidents and chancellors of a wide array of institutions — public research universities, private liberal arts colleges, regional universities and community colleges. Representatives of AAC&U, the American Academy of Arts and Science, Campus Compact, the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Association of American Law Schools and Complete College America have also signed on. The statement remains open for additional signatures. 'One of the greatest strengths of American higher education is the diversity of institutional types, anchored in a common commitment to serving the public good,' said AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella, in an AAC&U press release. 'The widespread support this statement has garnered demonstrates that despite differences in our respective missions, there is a willingness to speak collectively and act in solidarity to defend the core principles of academic freedom, shared governance, and institutional autonomy foundational to America's distinctive tradition of liberal education and to our nation's historic mission of educating for democracy.' As higher education struggles to find the best way to cope with the Trump administration's actions, a new strategy seems to be emerging — collective efforts at mutual defense and institutional solidarity. For example, faculty senates at several universities in the Big Ten Conference have created a 'mutual defense compact.' Rutgers University's faculty senate's resolution urges, among other actions, that 'all participating institutions shall commit meaningful funding to a shared or distributed defense fund. This fund shall be used to provide immediate and strategic support to any member institution under direct political or legal infringement.' Included in that support, which 'participating institutions shall make available, at the request of the institution under direct political infringement,' could also involve legal representation and countersuits, strategic communications, amicus briefs, expert testimony, legislative advocacy and relevant research. Similar resolutions have been passed at Indiana University, the University of Nebraksa, and Michigan State University. Whether those resolutions will translate into effective advocacy and be joined by at least the majority of the 18 universities currently comprising the Big Ten remains an open question, but it signals that institutions are beginning to team up to resist the ongoing pressures brought by the Trump administration.
