DEFENDING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY ● PROTECTING FACULTY RIGHTS
This is not just another attack on universities. It is an attack on free thought.
Colleagues,
If you want to know what is coming our way, look no further than the University of Virginia. On March 7, the UVa Board of Visitors voted unanimously to dissolve UVa’s Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Center for Community Partnerships in response to a White House executive order directing schools that receive federal funding to end DEI programs. One of the Board’s leading members, Bert Ellis said: “This board unanimously voted to rip out the entire DEI infrastructure and everybody who works in the DEI infrastructure. Every aspect of DEI is to be ripped out, shredded and terminated.” Read more below.
In a recent editorial in The New York Times, Meghan O’Rourke, editor of The Yale Review and a professor in the English department at Yale University, dismisses the view that what we are witnessing is just another attack on higher education by conservatives. She argues that “what we are witnessing is an attack on the conditions that allow free thought to exist” in the United States. O’Rourke’s article is below.
There is no question we are witnessing history being made, in the worst way possible. It is a dark, dystopic, and dangerous turn for America and the world. Please don’t sit on the sidelines while all this is happening around us. Join us. If we are going to go down, at least let’s go down fighting.
In Solidarity – Joseph Fitsanakis, PhD, President AAUP/AFT-CCU
Accreditation Is Trump’s ‘Secret Weapon’. This article by Greg D. Pillar (an associate provost) and Laurie Shanderson (an accreditation specialist) outlines three possible scenarios for how the Trump administration’s push to reshape accreditation could impact higher education.
● In the State-Controlled Model, the Department of Education could be eliminated, allowing states to create their own accrediting bodies with ideological priorities. This would result in a fragmented system where degrees from politically influenced accreditors may not be recognized by employers or other institutions, leading to declining academic quality and public trust.
● In the Politicized Accreditation scenario, the federal government could introduce conservative-aligned accrediting agencies, pressuring traditional accreditors to conform or risk losing federal recognition. Institutions that refuse to switch may face funding penalties, creating a divided system where accreditation decisions are driven by ideology rather than academic quality.
● The Higher-Ed Divide scenario envisions elite institutions retaining accreditation through traditional agencies while regional and smaller colleges are forced into alternative accreditors with less credibility. This would deepen socioeconomic disparities, limiting students’ ability to transfer, pursue graduate education, or secure competitive jobs, effectively stratifying higher education.
Congress Eyes More Control Over Colleges. Over the course of its first 75 days, the 119th Congress introduced more than 30 pieces of legislation concerning higher education—more than half of which came from members of the GOP. Taken together, the proposals offer a sketch of the Republican agenda to crack down on colleges.
● Given the emphasis on higher education in this session of Congress and the stakes for colleges, Inside Higher Ed is tracking higher-ed related bills. The searchable database currently includes 31 bills introduced since January.
● Combined, the proposed legislation and potential for sweeping changes could lead to an unprecedented amount of federal focus on higher ed that college and university advocates say could heavily discourage international enrollment, indirectly increase the cost of attendance and cause a chilling effect on campus free speech.
This is the End of the University as We Know It. Writing in The New York Times, Meghan O’Rourke, editor of The Yale Review and a professor in the English department at Yale University, argues that “what we are witnessing is not just an attack on academia or a set of fiscal reforms or a painful political rebalancing. It is an attack on the conditions that allow free thought to exist” in the United States.
● According to O’Rourke, historical conservative distrust of academia has escalated into a direct assault. the Trump administration’s actions against universities represent an unprecedented attack on academic freedom. The goal appears to be to instill fear in universities, forcing them to comply with ideological shifts. The administration’s actions echo authoritarian strategies, compelling universities to self-censor. While academia has faced previous political pressures, this moment is unique in its ambition to dismantle the university system itself. The consequences could be long-lasting, eroding both America’s intellectual foundations and its global standing.
White House launches assault on federal agency for America’s libraries. An executive order issued by the Trump administration on March 14 calls for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s only federal agency for America’s libraries. The American Library Association (ALA) has issued a statement against this vile action.
● “As seedbeds of literacy and innovation, our nation’s 125,000 public, school, academic and special libraries deserve more, not less support. ALA implores President Trump to reconsider this short-sighted decision. And we call on all Americans who value reading, learning, and enrichment to reach out to their elected leaders and Show Up For Our Libraries at library and school meetings, town halls, and everywhere decisions are made about libraries.“
‘Every aspect of DEI is to be ripped out,’ UVa official says. The University of Virginia has begun to completely dismantle all DEI initiatives across its 12 schools and multiple departments. This appears to be led by Bert Ellis, who sits on UVa’s governing Board of Visitors and has been a vocal critic of DEI in higher education.
● The UVa Board of Visitors voted unanimously March 7 to dissolve UVa’s Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Center for Community Partnerships in response to a White House executive order directing schools that receive federal funding to end DEI programs. “This board unanimously voted to rip out the entire DEI infrastructure and everybody who works in the DEI infrastructure,” said Ellis. “Every aspect of DEI is to be ripped out, shredded and terminated.”
AAUP-CCU 