Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, INDUSTRY NEWS, TRENDS—AAC&U calls out ‘undue government intrusion’ into American higher education, (Apr 24, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:Northwestern University | University of Hawaii | University of Pennsylvania | University of Washington
By Suzanne Cosgrove
The group says it opposes the “unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.”
Signed by the presidents of more than two dozen U.S. colleges and universities, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Tuesday released a statement in response to what it characterized as “undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses.”
The signers included the heads of major Ivy League schools like Harvard and Princeton, small liberal arts colleges that include Grinnell and Carleton, and state schools like the University of Washington and University of Hawaii.
“On behalf of our current and future students, and all who work at and benefit from our institutions, we call for constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic,” the statement read.
“We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding,” the group said.
On the heels of Harvard. The release follows a lawsuit filed Monday by Harvard University against various Trump administration agencies, and their heads, that asked the court to halt a multibillion funding freeze that the university maintains is “beyond the government’s authority” (President and Fellows of Harvard College v. US Department of Health and Human Services).
As the lawsuit noted, pursuant to Congress’s directives, the federal government fuels critical research at Harvard, one of the nation’s leading recipients of NIH grants. It also argued the White House demands violated Harvard’s First Amendment rights.
Other schools feel the heat. In addition to Harvard, the recent threat of possible federal funding cuts—unless universities alter or end certain programs, like DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion)—also has affected numerous other academic institutions, including Brown, Columbia, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University.
In March, for example, the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced the cancellation of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students,” an apparent reference to clashes that surrounded pro-Palestine protests held at the university’s campus.
As reported by various news organizations, Mohsen Mahdawi, a student organizer of pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year at Columbia, was detained by immigration officials last week. Mahdawi reportedly has held a green card for 10 years. His arrest follows the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and member of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, in March.
An exchange of ideas. “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 AAC&U stated.
“Colleges and universities are engines of opportunity and mobility, anchor institutions that contribute to economic and cultural vitality regionally and in our local communities. They foster creativity and innovation, provide human resources to meet the fast-changing demands of our dynamic workforce, and are themselves major employers.... many provide healthcare and other essential services.
“Most fundamentally, America’s colleges and universities prepare an educated citizenry to sustain our democracy,” the group said.
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