Two higher education coalitions have issued a joint statement calling for sector-wide solidarity as colleges and universities prepare responses to Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s “Call to Action,” a document requesting detailed reform commitments from institutions.
PEN America, a free speech advocacy organization, and the Alliance for Higher Education, a newly formed group focused on defending institutional autonomy, characterized the initiative as designed to divide and weaken the higher education sector. They argue the administration is attempting to compel changes that lack legal authority. The letter requests that university leaders publicly commit to specific plans addressing seven areas, including admissions policies, intellectual pluralism, and college affordability, with responses due by year’s end.
The advocacy groups have provided guidance encouraging institutions to acknowledge the impact of federal funding cuts on students, detail the role of diversity in democratic society, and affirm their commitment to merit-based hiring and enrollment. They also recommend that universities reject characterizations of rigorous research as inherently partisan. The American Association of University Professors separately urged institutions to secure explicit assurances that their responses would not trigger federal funding reductions or government investigations.
The initiative follows a controversial compact proposed during the previous fall that would have offered preferential federal funding in exchange for specific policy changes. That proposal was ultimately rejected by the higher education sector. McMahon’s current letter, while adopting a less confrontational tone than the earlier compact, has drawn similar concerns about government overreach.
University leaders are taking varied approaches to developing responses. Some, including Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Arizona, plan collaborative processes involving faculty and key stakeholders. Others, like Ohio State University, have not publicly committed to responding. The faculty union at Vanderbilt University has criticized both the “Call to Action” and the university’s own “Declaration of First Principles,” expressing concerns about the administration’s influence on institutional governance and academic freedom protections.
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