American universities denounce the Trump administration for “political interference”

Translated by Beatrice Cherubini

The American university system is currently one of the most prestigious and internationally renowned. American universities produce a significant portion of the scientific and technological research that underpins the advantages enjoyed by the United States. Since the beginning of his second term, President Trump has targeted and threatened universities he believes have failed to comply with the administration’s new policies on gender, race, identity and research. On Tuesday, April 22, more than one hundred American universities, including several Ivy League institutions such as Brown and Princeton, published a joint letter condemning “the unprecedented government overreach and political interference”. 

The universities behind this initiative are part of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, an academic consortium that brings together eighteen American institutions (sixteen public and two private) affiliated with the Big Ten Conference, one of the major athletic leagues in the United States. The Big Ten, long committed to academic collaboration, shares resources and infrastructure, promotes joint research and development programs, and offers educational opportunities for both students and faculty.

For many educators and academics, including Louisa Mackenzie, a professor at the University of Washington, the collaborative strength of the Big Ten alliance is seen as a key factor for building inter-institutional solidarity and providing protection against a government that has not only cut research funding but also revoked visas for international students. Similarly, according to the University of Michigan, it is now more important than ever to “set aside historical differences and sports rivalries to protect the fundamental value of academic independence”. The proposed plan will be discussed in the coming weeks during a series of meetings between university administrators and faculty leaders. The Association of American Universities, a group that includes the most influential universities in the United States, will hold its first meeting since Trump took office, in a session focused on developing a strategy to respond to the administration’s actions.

In recent months, the campaign against universities has been justified by the Trump government as a response to “unchecked antisemitism,” which allegedly manifested last year on numerous college campuses in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza. Trump attempted to pressure prestigious universities into countering accusations of tolerating antisemitism, threatening their budgets and the admission of international students. Nine academic institutions of the Big Ten received letters from the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, warning them of potential enforcement actions if they were unable to protect Jewish students on their campuses, by ensuring their access to facilities. The universities that received the letter became the site of protests during the 2023-2024 academic year, in support of the Palestinians. After refusing to fully comply with government demands regarding the handling of student protests, Harvard University saw about 2 billion dollars of public funding for research activities frozen. With an endowment of 53.2 billion dollars, the highest in the United States, the university has considerable resources, but over 80% of them are restricted to specific uses, limiting its ability to manage the funds. In this context, the 2 billion dollars in frozen funding could have serious repercussions for the university’s research system, at least until the July 21 hearing, where both parties will present their oral arguments.

Many believe the funding freeze imposed by the Trump administration could set American innovation back by decades. In a country where research and academia are pillars of public health and security, the freezing of federal funding could have long-term consequences for American prosperity. In just three months in the White House, the Trump government was named in more than 160 lawsuits over alleged violations of administrative procedures, ranging from the exclusion of transgender students from sports to the deportation of international students whose visas had been revoked. Just over a hundred days into his presidency, American academic freedom appears to be under attack.

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