EC shares AAUP council letter, October 23, 2025.
The following was sent by the EC to Provost Ritter and General Counsel Peterson.
Dear Provost Ritter and General Counsel Peterson,
Please find attached a letter from AAUP counsels Genevieve Lakier and Veena Dubal urging universities to formally reject the “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education,” which the Trump administration has asked universities to agree to in exchange for preferential access to federal funding and other forms of support. At a time when faculty, staff and students face funding cuts and restrictions on their academic freedom, it is critical that our university administration make it clear that they will resist further restrictions. As the letter points out, the compact violates core principles of academic freedom and freedom of speech, and may require universities to violate the constitutional rights of students and employees.
Please let us know how the University of Minnesota intends to respond to the Trump administration’s compact. We are happy to meet if you would like to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
The Executive Committee of the AAUP-UMTC:
William P. Jones, President
Heather E. Holcombe, Vice President
Karen-Sue Taussig, Secretary
Laura Kane McElfresh, Treasurer
Sushma Reddy, Member-at-large
V.V. Ganeshananthan, Member-at-large
Dear Provost Ritter and General Counsel Peterson,
Please find attached a letter from AAUP counsels Genevieve Lakier and Veena Dubal urging universities to formally reject the “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education,” which the Trump administration has asked universities to agree to in exchange for preferential access to federal funding and other forms of support. At a time when faculty, staff and students face funding cuts and restrictions on their academic freedom, it is critical that our university administration make it clear that they will resist further restrictions. As the letter points out, the compact violates core principles of academic freedom and freedom of speech, and may require universities to violate the constitutional rights of students and employees.
Please let us know how the University of Minnesota intends to respond to the Trump administration’s compact. We are happy to meet if you would like to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
The Executive Committee of the AAUP-UMTC:
William P. Jones, President
Heather E. Holcombe, Vice President
Karen-Sue Taussig, Secretary
Laura Kane McElfresh, Treasurer
Sushma Reddy, Member-at-large
V.V. Ganeshananthan, Member-at-large