The American Association of Colleges and Universities released a letter Tuesday in response to Trump administration actions affecting higher education.
The presidents of Colby, Bates, Bowdoin and the University of New England all joined more than 100 other university leaders nationally in signing the letter aimed to act as a “unified defense of learning and higher education.”
The statement titled “A Call for Constructive Engagement” stated, “We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.”
It warned that attacks on the freedoms of higher education will adversely affect students and society at large.
The statement remains open to additional signatures and had more than 150 signatures when published.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities released the statement one day after Harvard sued the Trump administration over its attempt to freeze billions of dollars in research grants. The administration has accused Harvard and other prominent schools of allowing antisemitic language and activism on campus.
The Trump administration has also frozen federal grants to Princeton, Columbia, Cornell and other universities over similar claims and is now threatening to go after universities’ tax-exempt status. While the letter from university presidents says they will always seek effective and financial practices, they also said they must “reject the coercive use of public research funding.”
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
