President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 signed a public statement released on Tuesday condemning the federal government’s recent actions targeting institutions of higher education. As of Tuesday evening, the letter has been signed by leaders from over 200 colleges and universities, as well as some educational associations.
The letter was released by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, which is an organization “dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education,” according to their website.
In the letter, the undersigned leaders “speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.” The letter emphasizes that the leaders are not opposed to “legitimate government oversight,” but rather, they condemn “the coercive use of public research funding.”
The statement follows a series of federal actions taken against Brown and other institutions of higher education.
Earlier this month, the White House confirmed plans to freeze $510 million of Brown’s federal funding. On April 18, staff at the National Institutes of Health were instructed to freeze all agency funding awarded to Brown, according to internal emails reviewed by The Herald.
But as of Monday morning, Brown has not yet “received any formal notification from the federal government of the large-scale grant terminations reported in the news media,” according to University Spokesperson Brian Clark.
In February — before staff at the NIH were instructed to freeze Brown’s grants — Brown, 12 other universities and three educational associations filed a lawsuit against the agency to stop widespread cuts to research funding. While a federal judge issued a permanent injunction against these cuts on April 4, the NIH has since appealed the decision.
Last week, Brown, eight other universities and the same three educational organizations also filed a lawsuit against the Department of Energy in an attempt to stop funding cuts by the agency.
A number of peer institutions have also faced federal funding cuts in recent months. On Monday, Harvard sued the Trump administration over its multibillion dollar funding freeze, accusing the federal government of unconstitutionally targeting the university.
The Tuesday statement signed by Paxson emphasizes a commitment to protecting freedom of speech and ensuring that faculty, students and staff are “free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship or deportation.” In recent weeks, at least one Brown student and several recent graduates have had their visas revoked, following a pattern of similar visa revocations at schools across the country.
The letter also calls for “constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.”
As of Tuesday evening, Dartmouth remains the only member of the Ivy League whose leader has not signed the statement. A Dartmouth spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The University also did not respond to a request for comment about the statement.
Samah Hamid is a senior staff writer at the Herald. She is from Sharon, Massachusetts and plans to concentrate in Biology. In her free time, you can find her taking a nap, reading, or baking a sweet treat.
