University President Sunil Kumar called for “constructive engagement” with 238 university and college leaders in a statement released by the American Association of Colleges & Universities on April 22. The signatories announced that they are speaking with one voice against recent “unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.”
The statement decries the increased governmental intervention in higher education and comes a day after Harvard University announced it was suing the Trump administration over its $2.2 billion funding freeze.
“We must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses,” the statement reads. “We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding.”
In February, Tufts joined a lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health’s 15% cap on federal grants covering the indirect costs of medical research for states and universities. The Department of Energy announced it would implement a 15% cap on indirect costs for existing and future grants to universities and colleges — Tufts signed a declaration expressing support for the plaintiffs.
The statement makes a case for the value of higher education to the economy and culture of the greater nation and local communities.
“Colleges and universities are engines of opportunity and mobility, anchor institutions that contribute to economic and cultural vitality regionally and in our local communities,” the statement reads. “They foster creativity and innovation, provide human resources to meet the fast-changing demands of our dynamic workforce, and are themselves major employers.”
The statement also reads: “Our colleges and universities share a commitment to serve as centers of open inquiry where, in their pursuit of truth, faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation.”
Tufts doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk was detained by Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents on March 25. Kumar signed an affidavit on April 1 in support of her lawyers’ petition for her release. Following her arrest, the State Department announced that her F-1 visa was revoked. Several international students across the nation, including some from Tufts, have had their visas revoked since then. Many of these students are now in ICE detention.
The end of the statement signals the danger posed by the administration to college students and American society as a whole. The signatories call for “constructive engagement” that benefits their institutions and the United States.
“The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society,” the statement read. “On behalf of our current and future students, and all who work at and benefit from our institutions, we call for constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.”
