The Trump administration and many state governments are accelerating attacks on academic freedom, shared governance, and higher education as a public good. We are working with our chapters and with allies in higher ed and the labor movement to defend and advance our vision: Higher education that is accessible and affordable for all who want it. Freedom to teach, to learn, to conduct research, to speak out on issues of the day, and to assemble in the organizations of our choice. Colleges and universities that create opportunity for students, workers, and communities. Sufficient funding to provide true education and sustainable working conditions. Information and resources to help in this fight are being added below as they are developed.
Get Involved—Current and Upcoming Actions
- Work with others on your campus and locally to get your institution to drop ICE's corporate collaborators now. Sign up to get involved. Access our Schools Drop ICE Toolkit here.
- See a complete list of upcoming AAUP events here.
- Follow AAUP news and statements here.
- Academic Freedom Starter Pack: Follow AAUP chapter and ally accounts on Bluesky.
If you're not already a member, please join us now! This fight needs all of us.
New Resources
- Hands Off Financial Aid Share Kit from the Emergency Campaign to Support Higher Education
- Learn about the Commission for Public Higher Education
- Protests and Demonstrations: Know Your Rights and Checklists (AAUP Legal Office)
- Academic Freedom Field Guide: Increasingly, academic freedom is being threatened from a whole host of directions. This field guide offers a collection of resources designed to help faculty, and their supporters, respond to attacks on their academic freedom.
Joint AAUP/AFT Website with Resources
- You can find that here. Scroll down on the home page to find links to resources organized by topic.
Protesting/Know Your Rights
- Fact sheet on dealing with ICE on your campus (AAUP General Counsel)
- Fact sheet on rights and risks for workers who are in the United States on visas (American Federation of Teachers)
- Know Your Rights flyers (AFL-CIO)
- Back-to-School Toolkit: Developed by the AAUP and the AFT, this back-to-school toolkit outlines six ways you can "meet the moment" and offers helpful links to resources on organizing, academic freedom and campus free speech, mass mobilization, racial justice and equality, supporting international communities, and digital safety.
- Advisory to Academic Workers: It is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the repercussions of our online speech and choices. The AAUP and Faculty First Responders have developed guidance for AAUP members and other academic workers with tips for social media use and digital safety.
Immigration
- AAUP letter to college and university general counsels: Institutions Should Support Students Under Visa Threats with Legal Aid and Housing
- AAUP letter to college and university legal offices: Institutions Should Not Provide Student and Faculty Info To Enable Deportations
- We need to know what is happening on your campus so we can legally and strategically respond. Please let us know what is going on by using this intake form.
- Fact sheet on dealing with ICE on your campus (AAUP General Counsel)
- Fact sheet on rights and risks for workers who are in the United States on visas (American Federation of Teachers)
- Issue brief on immigration-related campus concerns (American Council on Education)
- Know Your Rights flyers (AFL-CIO)
- Family preparedness plan template (Immigrant Legal Resource Center)
- Lawsuit: Suit over Trump Policy of Arresting and Threatening to Deport Students and Faculty for Lawful Speech
- Lawsuit: Challenge to $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
- Lawsuit: AAUP Challenges Trump Administration's Gold Card Visa Scheme
Attacks on Science and Research
- Information about how AAUP members are working with a diverse coalition to preserve federal funding for science and research.
- Support for Researchers Facing Coordinated Campaigns of Intimidation and Harassment (Researcher Support Consortium)
- NIH Indirect Costs Caps Toolkit:
- Understanding the Law and Policies for Grant Terminations for the National Science Foundation (AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom)
- Letter to Northwestern University concerning the president and board of trustees' request for information on the operation of legal clinics
- Lawsuit: Suit Over Mass Termination of Science Grants
- Lawsuit: Challenge to Unlawful Funding Cuts at Columbia
Federal Funding
- Tools and Resources For the Loyalty Oath Compact Fightback
- Federal Funding Freeze Impact Survey (Higher Ed Labor United)
- Fact sheet on privatizing K-12 education (AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom)
- Fund Protection Clinic (Lawyers for Good Government)
- Statement opposing Trump administration "loyalty oath" compact.
- Lawsuit: Challenge to Unlawful Funding Cuts at Harvard
- Lawsuit: Challenge to Unlawful Threats of Funding Cuts at University of California
- Lawsuit: Challenge to Unlawful Funding Cuts at Columbia
- Lawsuit: Challenge to Anti-Diversity Executive Orders
Accreditation
- Accreditation: What to Expect in 2025 (American Federation of Teachers)
- Accreditors brace for Trump’s promised higher ed shakeup (Higher Ed Dive)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Fact sheet on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom)
- Fact sheet on DEI in K-12 (AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom)
- Fact sheet on antisemitism (AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom)
- Fact sheet on weaponizing civil rights law (AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom)
- Fact sheet on gender identity (AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom)
- Report On Title VI, Discrimination, and Academic Freedom
- Lawsuit: Challenge to Anti-Diversity Executive Orders
- Statement condemning attacks on HBCUs
Repression of Political Speech
- Statement on Academic Freedom and the Death of Charlie Kirk
- Statement condemning partisan summary dismissals of Texas faculty
- Discriminating Against Dissent: The Weaponization of Civil Rights Law to Repress Campus Speech on Palestine (joint report from the AAUP and MESA)
- Report On Title VI, Discrimination, and Academic Freedom
Anticipatory Obedience
Administrations sometimes go farther than the law requires to placate those who are attacking higher ed.
- Statement Against Anticipatory Obedience, with recommendations (AAUP)
Department of Education and Governmental Overreach