from The American Association of Colleges and Universities
April 22, 2025
[A letter signed by various college and university presidents in defense of academic autonomy and freedom. Tellingly, no president of a Florida public university or college has signed this statement as of yet]
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. 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. We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding.
America’s system of higher learning is as varied as the goals and dreams of the students it serves. It includes research universities and community colleges; comprehensive universities and liberal arts colleges; public institutions and private ones; freestanding and multi-site campuses. Some institutions are designed for all students, and others are dedicated to serving particular groups. Yet, 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. 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.
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. 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. They nurture the scholarly pursuits that ensure America’s leadership in research, and many provide healthcare and other essential services. Most fundamentally, America’s colleges and universities 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. 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.
Signed,
- Jonathan Alger, President, American University
- Barbara K. Altmann, President, Franklin & Marshall College
- Suzanne Ames, President, Peninsula College
- Carmen Twillie Ambar, President, Oberlin College
- Denise A. Battles, President, SUNY Geneseo
- Ian Baucom, Incoming President, Middlebury College
- Allan Belton, President, Pacific Lutheran University
- Hubert Benitez, President, Saint Peter’s University
- Joanne Berger-Sweeney, President, Trinity College (CT)
- Michael A. Bernstein, President, The College of New Jersey
- Audrey Bilger, President, Reed College
- Erik J. Bitterbaum, President, SUNY Cortland
- Sarah Bolton, President, Whitman College
- Mary H. Bonderoff, President, SUNY Delhi
- Leon Botstein, President, Bard College
- Eric Boynton, President, Beloit College
- Elizabeth H. Bradley, President, Vassar College
- Brian Bruess, President, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University
- Adam Bush, President, College Unbound
- Alison Byerly, President, Carleton College
- Wendy Cadge, President and Professor of Sociology, Bryn Mawr College
- Nancy Cantor, President, Hunter College CUNY
- Alberto Jose Cardelle, President, SUNY Oneonta
- John Carmichael, President, The Evergreen State College
- Brian W. Casey, President, Colgate University
- Ana Mari Cauce, Professor and President, University of Washington
- Andrea Chapdelaine, President, Connecticut College
- Thom D. Chesney, President, Southwestern College (NM)
- Bryan F. Coker, President, Maryville College
- Ronald B. Cole, President, Allegheny College
- Soraya Coley, President, Cal Poly Pomona
- Jennifer Collins, President, Rhodes College
- John Comerford, President, Otterbein University
- Marc C. Conner, President, Skidmore College
- Joy Connolly, President, American Council of Learned Societies
- La Jerne Terry Cornish, President, Ithaca College
- Grant Cornwell, President, Rollins College
- Isiaah Crawford, President, University of Puget Sound
- Gregory G. Dell’Omo, President, Rider University
- Kent Devereaux, President, Goucher College
- Jim Dlugos, Interim President, Landmark College
- Bethami Dobkin, President, Westminster University
- Harry Dumay, President, Elms College
- Christopher L. Eisgruber, President, Princeton University
- Michael A. Elliott, President, Amherst College
- Alexander Enyedi, President, SUNY Plattsburgh
- Jane Fernandes, President, Antioch College
- Roland Fernandes, General Secretary, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
- Damian J. Fernandez, President, Warren Wilson College
- David Fithian, President, Clark University
- Lisa C. Freeman, President, Northern Illinois University
- Robert Gaines, Acting President, Pomona College
- James Gandre, President, Manhattan School of Music
- Alan M. Garber, President, Harvard University
- Jay D. Gatrell, President, Eastern Illinois University
- Michael H. Gavin, President, Delta College
- Mark D. Gearan, President, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- Melissa Gilliam, President, Boston University
- Lane A. Glenn, President, Northern Essex Community College
- Jorge G. Gonzalez, President, Kalamazoo College
- Jonathan D. Green, President, Susquehanna University
- David A. Greene, President, Colby College
- William R. Groves, Chancellor, Antioch University
- Jeremy Haefner, Chancellor, University of Denver
- Yoshiko Harden, President, Renton Technical College
- Anne F. Harris, President, Grinnell College
- James T. Harris, President, University of San Diego
- Marjorie Hass, President, Council of Independent Colleges
- Richard J. Helldobler, President, William Paterson University
- Wendy Hensel, President, University of Hawaii
- James Herbert, President, University of New England
- Doug Hicks, President, Davidson College
- Mary Dana Hinton, President, Hollins University
- Danielle R. Holley, President, Mount Holyoke College
- Jonathan Holloway, President, Rutgers University
- Robin Holmes-Sullivan, President, Lewis & Clark College
- Robert H. Huntington, President, Heidelberg University
- Nicole Hurd, President, Lafayette College
- Wolde-Ab Isaac, Chancellor, Riverside Community College District
- Karim Ismaili, President, Eastern Connecticut State University
- J. Larry Jameson, President, University of Pennsylvania
- Garry W. Jenkins, President, Bates College
- Paula A. Johnson, President, Wellesley College
- John E. Jones III, President, Dickinson College
- Katrina Bell Jordan, President, Northeastern Illinois University
- Cristle Collins Judd, President, Sarah Lawrence College
- David L. Kaufman, President, Capital University
- Colleen Perry Keith, President, Goldey-Beacom College
- Marisa Kelly, President, Suffolk University
- Julie Johnson Kidd, President, Endeavor Foundation
- Jonathan Koppell, President, Montclair State University
- Sally Kornbluth, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Julie Kornfeld, President, Kenyon College
- Michael I. Kotlikoff, President, Cornell University
- Paula Krebs, Executive Director, Modern Language Association
- Sunil Kumar, President, Tufts University
- Bobbie Laur, President, Campus Compact
- Frederick M. Lawrence, Secretary and CEO, Phi Beta Kappa Society
- Linda M. LeMura, President, Le Moyne College
- Hilary L. Link, President, Drew University
- Patricia A. Lynott, President, Rockford University
- Heidi Macpherson, President, SUNY Brockport
- John Maduko, President, Connecticut State Community College
- Lynn Mahoney, President, San Francisco State University
- Daniel Mahony, President, Southern Illinois University
- Maud S. Mandel, President, Williams College
- Christine Mangino, President, Queensborough Community College
- Amy Marcus-Newhall, President, Scripps College
- Felix V. Matos-Rodriguez, Chancellor, City University of New York (CUNY)
- Anne E. McCall, President, The College of Wooster
- Richard L. McCormick, Interim President, Stony Brook University
- Michael McDonald, President, Great Lakes Colleges Association
- James McGrath, President and Dean, Cooley Law School
- Patricia McGuire, President, Trinity Washington University
- Maurie McInnis, President, Yale University
- Elizabeth M. Meade, President, Cedar Crest College
- Scott D. Miller, President, Virginia Wesleyan University
- Jennifer Mnookin, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Robert Mohrbacher, President, Centralia College
- Chris Moody, Executive Director, ACPA-College Student Educators International
- Tomas Morales, President, California State University San Bernardino
- Milton Moreland, President, Centre College
- Kathryn Morris, President, St. Lawrence University
- Ross Mugler, Board Chair and Acting President and CEO, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
- Krista L. Newkirk, President, University of Redlands
- Stefanie D. Niles, President, Cottey College
- Claire Oliveros, President, Riverside City College
- Robyn Parker, Interim President, Saybrook University
- Lynn Pasquerella, President, American Association of Colleges and Universities
- Laurie L. Patton, President, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Beth Paul, President, Nazareth University
- Christina Paxson, President, Brown University
- Rob Pearigen, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of the South
- Deidra Peaslee, President, Saint Paul College
- Eduardo M. Peñalver, President, Seattle University
- Ora Pescovitz, President, Oakland University
- Darryll J. Pines, President, University of Maryland
- Nicola Pitchford, President, Dominican University of California
- Kevin Pollock, President, Central Carolina Technical College
- Susan Poser, President, Hofstra University
- Paul C. Pribbenow, President, Augsburg University
- Vincent Price, President, Duke University
- Robert Quinn, Executive Director, Scholars at Risk Network
- Wendy E. Raymond, President, Haverford College
- Christopher M. Reber, President, Hudson County Community College
- Andrew Rehfeld, President, Hebrew Union College
- Suzanne M. Rivera, President, Macalester College
- Michael S. Roth, President, Wesleyan University
- James Ryan, President, University of Virginia
- Vincent Rougeau, President, College of the Holy Cross
- Kurt L. Schmoke, President, University of Baltimore
- Carol Geary Schneider, Acting Executive Director, Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement Coalition
- Sean M. Scott, President and Dean, California Western School of Law
- Zaldwaynaka Scott, President, Chicago State University
- Claire Shipman, Acting President, Columbia University
- Philip J. Sisson, President, Middlesex Community College (MA)
- Suzanne Smith, President, SUNY Potsdam
- Valerie Smith, President, Swarthmore College
- Paul Sniegowski, President, Earlham College
- Barbara R. Snyder, President, Association of American Universities
- Stephen Snyder, Interim President, Middlebury College
- Rachel Solemsaas, President, North Seattle College
- Weymouth Spence, President, Washington Adventist University
- Terri Standish-Kuon, President and CEO, Independent Colleges of Washington
- G. Gabrielle Starr, President, Pomona College
- Karen A. Stout, President, Achieving the Dream
- Tom Stritikus, President, Occidental College
- Julie Sullivan, President, Santa Clara University
- Aondover Tarhule, President, Illinois State University
- Glena Temple, President, Dominican University
- Steven J. Tepper. President, Hamilton College
- Kellye Y. Testy, CEO, Association of American Law Schools
- Tania Tetlow, President, Fordham University
- Strom C. Thacker, President, Pitzer College
- Scott L. Thomas, President, Sterling College
- Stephen Thorsett, President, Willamette University
- Joel Towers, President, The New School
- Deborah Trautman, President and CEO, American Association of Colleges of Nursing
- Satish K. Tripathi, President, University at Buffalo, SUNY
- James Troha, President, Juniata College
- Kyaw Moe Tun, President, Parami University
- Brad Tyndall, President, Central Wyoming College
- LaTanya Tyson, President, Carolina Christian College
- Matthew P. vandenBerg, President, Ohio Wesleyan University
- James Vander Hooven, President, Mount Wachusett Community College
- Laura R. Walker, President, Bennington College
- Yolanda Watson Spiva, President, Complete College America
- Phil Weilerstein, President, VentureWell
- Michaele Whelan, President, Wheaton College
- Manya C. Whitaker, Interim President, Colorado College
- Julie A. Manley White, Chancellor and CEO, Pierce College
- Kim A. Wilcox, Chancellor, University of California, Riverside
- Sarah Willie-LeBreton, President, Smith College
- Safa R. Zaki, President, Bowdoin College
