🚨🚨🚨 NEW AAUP Report Analyzes Trump Admin Weaponization of Title VI to Undermine Civil Rights Protections. #Academicfreedom #AcademicSky #DefendHigherEd

The AAUP & @aft.org are fighting back to remind our elected leaders that higher education & public health research are transformative public goods. We must keep life-saving NIH research fully funded & stop the Trump admin’s devastating funding cuts that are halting medical breakthroughs.

Dr. Leonard Bright, VP of @texasaaup.bsky.social on the resignation of Texas A&M president Mark Welsh. (Watch to the end for a report on how politicians are being appointed to lead university systems in Texas.) #DefendHigherEd #AcademicFreedom #AcademicSky

"Enough is enough. Texas must allow faculty and college students to explore freely the breadth of human knowledge, and administrators must support us in that time-honored quest." – Pauline Strong, President @utaustinaaup.bsky.social #AcademicFreedom #AcademicSky @texasaaup.bsky.social

The new reality that is emerging in Texas is that certain topics or ideas are simply off the table in the classroom. The censorship of academic speech and entire fields of knowledge in service to an ideology poses an unprecedented danger to the future of higher education. #AcademicFreedom

“We will not allow authoritarians to dismantle higher education. We will not allow billionaires to profit while communities suffer. And we will not allow fear to silence students and workers who speak out.” — Todd Wolfson, AAUP President #DefendHigherEd #HigherEdBenefitsEveryone @aft.org

We just filed a lawsuit on behalf of faculty, staff, students, and unions to protect free speech within the University of California system. The Trump-Vance admin's use of financial threats against academic institutions in an attempt to stifle views it opposes is both unconstitutional and illegal.

The rampant violations of academic freedom and intrusions on extramural speech are escalating rapidly. Faculty members have the right to speak or write as citizens, free from institutional censorship or discipline. Expression of opinion as a citizen does not constitute grounds for dismissal.

A must-read essay from Joan Scott: “We are again confronting a massive attack on the very foundations of democratic education and, this time around, the stakes feel even higher. In the 1950s, the targets were individual teachers…and their left-wing unions. Now the target is the system itself.” ⬇️

The AAUP notes with great alarm the rash of recent administrative actions to discipline faculty, staff, & student speech in the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk. 1/4

The AAUP stands in full solidarity w/HBCU faculty, staff, students, admin, & alumni. We call on law enforcement & governmental authorities to treat these threats w/ the seriousness they deserve, investigate thoroughly, hold responsible parties accountable, & strengthen preventive measures on campus.

In this episode of AAUP Presents, we discuss AAUP v. Rubio, the lawsuit challenging Trump's policy of arresting & deporting non-citizens, students & faculty participating in pro-Palestine activism. Feat. Ramya Krishnan of the Knight First Institute @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social @knightcolumbia.org

The AAUP calls on Texas A&M & Texas State to reverse the ideological firings of faculty members. We condemn the removal of the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences & the chair of the English department at Texas A&M for supporting the academic freedom of an instructor as a draconian abuse of power.

“As we consider how to ‘defend’ academic freedom, I think it is important to admit when it has been lost. Perhaps one day it may return, but at least for now, academic freedom is no longer present at one of the largest public institutions in the country.” ⬇️⬇️

Online harassment and T*rning P*int toolkit from @aaup.org www.aaup.org/issues-highe...

"It is appalling that a university professor, her dean, & her department chair have been removed from their positions based on viral video clips & an online outrage machine stirred by state politicians & the governor himself."

This isn't about transparency, it's surveillance. It opens the door for politically-motivated harassment against faculty and creates a chilling effect that will lead to self-censorship in the classroom. This is an attack on faculty autonomy and an attempt to control what is taught at our university.

“Stimson has repeatedly exceeded his authority as Rector. His conflicting leadership role at the Heritage Foundation & his repeated attempts to overreach his authority threaten the foundation of VA's largest public university, endangering its governance, stability, & future.” –@aaupmason.bsky.social

Important & hilarious deconstruction of Trump & the authoritarian far right's absurdly dangerous attacks on American higher education featuring a cameo from Michael Thaddeus, acting president of @aaupcu.bsky.social. #DefendHigherEd #Academicsky

The Resistance Is Inevitable. We’re sick & tired of ICE & FBI agents profiling, harassing, & violently arresting our neighbors. #wearealldc Incredible turnout in DC yesterday, including a strong AAUP contingent. @aaupmason.bsky.social @gwaaup.bsky.social @afthighered.bsky.social

George Mason President Gregory Washington lacks Harvard’s resources and is facing calls for his ouster amid four Trump probes. He says he won’t quit. @aaupmason.bsky.social

This is a victory for our members, all grad students & faculty (whose jobs, futures, & academic freedom have been put on the line) who organized collectively, mobilized resources, & put pressure on the university to do the same. 7/

On the first day of classes, Columbia AAUP held a press conference sounding the alarm on threats to #academicfreedom in teaching & research. Several of Columbia’s most distinguished faculty spoke out on the government intrusions & administrative concessions that have harmed our institution. 🧵

Jean-Marie Guéhenmo, Professor of International Affairs & Conflict Resolution, Director of SIPA’s Kent Global Leadership Program on Conflict Resolution: “This is about the kind of society we want to be.”

I will note that while Harvard's case was incredibly strong, they still quietly enacted many of the exact demands of the Trump administration such as limiting protests, eliminating DEI and supports for minority students, and targeting middle eastern studies curriculum. bsky.app/profile/esqu...

In April, the AAUP & our Harvard chapter sued the Trump admin for demanding that Harvard censor speech & restructure core operations or else face $8.7 billion in funding cuts. We hope this decision clarifies to Harvard’s administration that bargaining w/ tyrannical authoritarians is unacceptable.

Amidst Trump’s absurd Federal takeover, DC area AAUP chapters took to the streets to celebrate the power of working people. ✊🏽✊🏻✊🏼✊🏿✊🏾 #WorkersOverBillionaires #DefendHigherEd #LaborDay @aaupmason.bsky.social @gwaaup.bsky.social @aaup-americanu.bsky.social

The AAUP believes that unions provide the best way for higher education workers to fulfill our duty to the wider public to ensure higher education contributes to the common good. Happy Labor Day! #DefendHigherEd

I'm proud that @aaup.org has been on the front lines fighting this administration's abuses. Trump is, indeed, an aggressively anti-labor president, despite the "workers party now" bs. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...

From Durham, NC to Washington, LA, Chicago, Boston, & dozens of cities in between, higher ed workers stood up today for the freedom & independence of higher education, because the future of our democracy depends on it. #LaborDay #DefendHigherEd #WorkersOverBillionaires @ncaaup.bsky.social

Keep em coming! Higher Education Saves Lives! Stand Up! Get Loud! Resist! #OrganizeFightWin #DefendHigherEd #LaborDay

We Out Here! AAUP & @aft.org members from coast to coast are out in the streets this #LaborDay standing on business & raising the voices of higher ed workers as we continue to resist an unprecedented wave of attacks. Join Us! #DefendHigherEd ✊🏼✊🏾✊🏻✊🏿✊🏽

Boston AAUP Chapters in the Streets!!! #Solidarity #LaborDay #WorkersDeserve #DefendHigherEd

Agree. @aaup.org is on the front lines fighting for higher education, academic freedom, and solidarity among academic workers, students, and our surrounding communities. Join up!

🤠 Happy Labor Day, Texas higher ed workers! Today is a great day to join the AAUP as we fight for academic freedom, shared governance, and economic security. We are stronger together!  💪 Monthly dues are sliding scale and membership is confidential.   connect.aft.org/app/memberfo...

Happy Labor Day to All Workers Everywhere! Now is the Time to Organize! Fight! & Win! #LaborDay #WorkersDeserve

As Labor Day approaches, we urge all AAUP members & chapters to join the national actions organized by @aft.org & the MayDayStrong coalition. Their website provides a directory & instructions for locating nearby actions. maydaystrong.org See you on the streets! #DefendHigherEd #WorkersDeserve

“So, when somebody comes & tells us, ‘No, you can’t say these words, you can’t teach this book…this class…it’s basically like saying to a doctor, ‘You’ve trained for years to become a doctor, but we’re not going to let you see patients. You’ll have to do office work.” — Isaac Kamola, AAUP CDAF

For academic programming cuts, there should always be early, careful, & meaningful faculty involvement. It is primarily the responsibility of the faculty—who have the subject matter expertise & front-line experience— to determine if/where programs reductions should be made. 4/

We celebrate the hard work of today's college students struggling in an imperfect, under resourced system. "Community colleges, along with regional public universities, are the workhorses of higher education in the United States" www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/u...

Todd Wolfson, AAUP President, warned of a more “militant” response on campuses in the fall – including possible mass strikes. “We’re going to need to politicize this fight. It’s not an economic strike on our job conditions – it’s a political strike for the future of the sector.” #DefendHigherEd

Update on the shadowy media group that requested millions of syllabi across the US. Here are stories from their own sites about the national August 6th request, likely thousands of requests to schools in Alabama, California, New York, Pennsylvania likely all 50 states: www.google.com/search?hl=en...

"We categorically reject the idea that speech critical of the Israeli government amounts to antisemitism." Statement by George Washington AAUP after Trump DOJ's threats.

"As the struggle continues, the future of American higher education hangs in the balance, caught between competing visions of what universities should be: sanctuaries of free thought and diversity, or instruments of a new ideological order. The choices made now will reverberate for generations."

Yesterday, colleagues released a statement rejecting DOJ's aim to quash both academic debate and academic freedom through mischaracterization...using Antisemitism as their weapon.

“Historically the best & brightest in the world came to the US to study. Now under Trump’s destructive policies, the best & brightest are fleeing the country. We need to reverse course & reclaim the values that made this country a beacon of research & free inquiry.” — Todd Wolfson, AAUP President

"School officials have publicly acknowledged that they viewed the restoration of federal funds as vital to maintaining Columbia’s top-tier standing, and the university did not seriously contest the sum." Top. Tier. Standing. 🙃 www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/u...

It’s time to fight! Become a member of @aaup.org or your local union and let’s build power and get ready to rumble!!

Today, the George Washington U chapter of the AAUP responded to the Trump DOJ's threats to crush academic freedom: "This dangerous conflation of campus protest w/ antisemitism is designed to rule legitimate political speech out of bounds by mischaracterizing the motivations of those engaged in it."

Today, the Executive Committee of the George Washington Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (GWU-AAUP) released a statement rejecting the Department of Justice’s attempt to chill academic debate & crush academic freedom on the GWU campus. 🧵