We Are Higher Ed
wearehighered.bsky.social
We Are Higher Ed
@wearehighered.bsky.social
We are a collective of academics who believe that higher education is vital to a functioning democracy--and we will fight for it. https://www.wearehighered.org
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Tell @wearehighered.bsky.social about what's happening on YOUR campus with the attacks on higher ed.

We hear a lot about the elite campuses but what about the rest?

And we hear when schools do egregious things, but not so much about where things are better.

www.wearehighered.org/campus-tracker
Campus Tracker — We Are Higher Ed
www.wearehighered.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:41 PM
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If you have to get permission to teach in your area of expertise from people who are definitionally not qualified to adjudicate your expertise then you are no longer working at a university.

You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
November 13, 2025 at 11:48 PM
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1882 to 198! Solidarity, new comrades, and congrats to the Coalition of Graduate Employees.
Penn State graduate students overwhelmingly vote in favor of unionizing
The election took place last month.
www.centredaily.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:44 PM
"The university system will ban advocacy of 'race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity' without approval."
Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:16 AM
"The professor will no longer be able to teach a class on diversity after she showed students a diagram that included the 'Make America Great Again' slogan as an example of white supremacy."
Indiana Professor Removed From Class Over White Supremacy Lesson
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:15 AM
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The UC Regents finally released the “settlement agreement” the Trump administration proposed in August. It’s a doozy.

UC alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, donors—and all citizens of California:

Now is the time to let the UC Regents know you do not want them to sign this bad deal.
October 25, 2025 at 6:53 AM
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The UC Regents finally released the “settlement agreement” the Trump administration proposed in August. It’s a doozy.

UC alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, donors—and all citizens of California:

Now is the time to let the UC Regents know you do not want them to sign this bad deal.
October 26, 2025 at 10:48 PM
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Here is the proposed agreement the Trump admin sent to UCLA, which administrators fought tooth and claw to keep secret ucop.edu/communicatio...
ucop.edu
October 25, 2025 at 12:17 AM
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NEW WRITING:

It's aimed at students, with some specific examples for astro/physics folks, but I think other people may find it useful too. 🔭⚛️🧪

"Knowledge is worth your time because of how it shapes your mind. And the authoritarians may take many things from us, but they cannot take our minds."
Knowledge is Worth Your Time
Folks who hang out on Bluesky/Twitter may have caught bits and pieces of the discussions amongst academics about what to do about today's university students...
chanda.bearblog.dev
October 22, 2025 at 6:11 PM
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From the Daily Texan, the UT student newspaper: Academic freedom should not be for sale.

thedailytexan.com/2025/10/16/a...
Academic freedom should not be for sale
The Editorial Board argues the University should join the league of universities rejecting Trump’s compact in favor of in institutional independence.
thedailytexan.com
October 22, 2025 at 1:58 AM
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Arts & Sciences Dean says WashU will not sign Trump’s higher ed compact as-is - Student Life www.studlife.com/news/2025/10...
Arts & Sciences Dean says WashU will not sign Trump’s higher ed compact as-is - Student Life
Dean of WashU’s College of Arts & Sciences, Feng Sheng Hu, told faculty at a meeting on Tuesday that Chancellor Andrew D. Martin does not plan to sign the Trump administration’s compact for higher edu...
www.studlife.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:52 PM
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Is this how science in the US is meant to advance? Many PhD programs are cutting admissions due to funding uncertainty - promising minds turned away, discoveries delayed. We must do better.
#Science #Research #PhD #USPol #ScienceMatters #AcademicSky #ResearchSky
US PhD admissions shrink as fears over Trump’s cuts take hold
Some doctoral programmes are admitting no students at all amid uncertainty about federal science funding.
www.nature.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:03 PM
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NEW: Lauren Stokes, the University of Mississippi employee who lost her job for resharing a social media post criticizing Charlie Kirk, is suing Chancellor Glen Boyce.

After her firing, she says she and her husband had to close their restaurant and flee Oxford for weeks due to threats.
UM Employee Sues After Losing Her Job for Criticizing Kirk
Former University of Mississippi employee Lauren Stokes is suing Chancellor Glenn Boyce for firing her after she criticized Charlie Kirk.
www.mississippifreepress.org
October 22, 2025 at 11:05 PM
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Georgia Tech says it’s cutting expenses to “preserve cash,” the University of Hawaiʻi system is paying federally funded workers $20 million every two weeks and a N.J. community college says a solar energy training program is in jeopardy.
www.insidehighered.com/news/busines...
In Fourth Week, Federal Shutdown Increasingly Hinders Higher Ed
Georgia Tech says it’s cutting expenses to “preserve cash,” the University of Hawaiʻi system is paying federally funded workers $20 million every two weeks and a N.J. community college says a solar en...
www.insidehighered.com
October 23, 2025 at 12:21 PM
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Most of this laundry list of "overwhelming evidence" is tendentious. Let's go through them.
1) A big driver of high costs at public universities has been a decrease in state appropriations. Many public schools have been forced to act on a public/private model as a result..../1
October 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
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Apart from the massive invasion of academic freedom that this compact demands, MIT simply does not want a special leg up—it wants "open competition for excellence."

"In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences."

A stunning rebuke.
Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart
orgchart.mit.edu
October 10, 2025 at 7:52 PM
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A Compact for Control:
No self-respecting institution of higher education should accept the Trump administration’s unconstitutional terms, Robert Post and Tom Ginsburg write.
@yalelawschool-yls.bsky.social @uchicagolaw.bsky.social
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
A Compact for Control (opinion)
No self-respecting institution of higher education should accept the Trump administration’s unconstitutional terms, Robert Post and Tom Ginsburg write.
www.insidehighered.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:14 AM
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@aacu.org has stepped up & called the Trump "compact" for higher ed what it is: "The compact is, in effect, an ultimatum...This is not constructive engagement." Big question is where is @aau.edu? If your university is part of AAU, write to your president & trustees now.
www.aacu.org/newsroom/aac...
AAC&U Statement on the Trump Administration’s “Compact for… | AAC&U
AAC&U Statement on the Trump Administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”
www.aacu.org
October 5, 2025 at 12:56 PM
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I missed this earlier this week, but the Directors of NIAID, NICHD, NIMHD, & NINR were all fired. The NIAID Director, Mazzaro, was likely fired in retaliation for speaking out against the anti-vaccine moves made by the administration.
Kennedy Fires N.I.H. Scientist Who Filed Whistle-Blower Complaint
www.nytimes.com
October 5, 2025 at 6:57 PM
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Friends @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social is doing well— she’s at home, released last night. I’ll let her speak on the ordeal when she’s ready but for now wanted to share this update.
October 5, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Please call Cook County DA and ask them to drop charges against the group of protesters arrested in Chicago yesterday: (312) 603-1880

This is particularly for Illinois residents, but national calls couldn’t hurt.
October 4, 2025 at 12:55 PM
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Facing censorship challenges? You’re not alone.
Join us Oct 7 at noon CT for a free webinar on two ALA resources, Law for Librarians + Library Helplines, designed to help you push back.
Learn more and check out other free #BannedBooksWeek events at https://www.ala.org/bbooks/events
October 3, 2025 at 6:59 PM
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This is who @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social is. Brilliant. Fearless. I fucking hate typing this shit out: Free Eman.

Amplify amplify amplify please.
October 3, 2025 at 3:40 PM
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🚨🚨 My dear friend and fellow academic, the Palestinian American sociologist @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social has been taken by the Cook County Sheriff near Chicago. They have not mirandized her. Please signal boost. All eyes on Broadview for Eman and the community she was defending 🚨🚨
October 3, 2025 at 3:00 PM