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ACLS Statement Regarding White House “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

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PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 4d

@acls1919.bsky.social: "Under financial and political pressure, university leadership...may be tempted to sign and try to mitigate the damage later...No institution that is committed to the free pursuit of knowledge should submit to the degradation of autonomy and academic freedom contained in it."

ACLS stands firmly against this latest White House effort to divide faculties by giving special privileges to students in “hard science programs” and its demand that institutions abolish “units that p...

www.acls.org

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PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 4d

@aacu.org: "...college and university presidents cannot bargain with the essential freedom of colleges and universities to determine, on academic grounds, whom to admit and what is taught, how, and by whom. They cannot trade academic freedom for federal funding—and should not be asked to do so.

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

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 4d

The Trump administration proposed a compact with 9 colleges and universities. The deal would give preferential treatment on federal funding to the institutions in exchange for broad changes to admissions and enrollment, hiring, tuition-setting, campus speech, and the treatment of conservatives.

Higher Ed Sounds Off on Proposed Compact

The sector has overwhelmingly panned Trump’s plan to give preferential treatment to universities that commit to his policies. So have some conservative leaders.

What Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee means for UW-Madison, Wisconsin

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PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 11d

PROFS is deeply concerned that Assembly Bill 446/Senate Bill 445, legislation that would define antisemitism, would have the unintended consequence of infringing on First Amendment rights. Link to legislation: profs.wisc.edu?p=10057

Our statement ⬇️

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PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 16d

UW-Madison employs the second-largest number of H-1B visa holders in the state. Last week, President Trump increased the annual fee paid by employers of visa-holders from $215 to $100,000. A UW-Madison spokesperson said it's unclear if the fee will apply to the university.

Wisconsin employers hire about 2,600 employees each year using H-1B visas, which going forward will cost $100,000 each.

madison.com

UC employees, unions sue Trump administration over ‘financial coercion’

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 23d

A coalition of University of California employee groups and labor unions has sued the Trump administration over the federal government’s efforts to "exert ideological control" of the UC System campuses through cuts in research funding. The lawsuit called the cuts unconstitutional and arbitrary.

The government is seeking $1 billion and expansive access to University of California records, among other things, to settle antisemitism allegations.

Wisconsin researcher’s project cut short in NIH diversity purge • Wisconsin Examiner

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 23d

UW-Madison grad student's NIH grant was terminated without warning, less than four months into the project. Supervising professor Lingjung Li: "We believe that different, diverse backgrounds can actually bring unique and different perspectives to make our research enterprise better and stronger."

Trump administration attacks on diversity programs led NIH to cancel awards aimed at diversifying the research workforce.

wisconsinexaminer.com

University of Nebraska-Lincoln looks to cut 6 academic programs

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 25d

Nebraska's flagship is considering cutting 6 academic programs (bachelor's & graduate) and consolidating 4 others in an effort to cut more than $27 million. The targeted programs include community & regional planning, earth & atmospheric sciences, statistics, and educational administration.

The move would save $7.7 million, according to the public institution’s chancellor, who also called for merging other programs into new interdisciplinary schools.

Perceived Importance of College Hits New Low

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 26d

Gallup finds that the perceived importance of college in the US has dramatically fallen over the past 15 years. Thirty-five percent say college is very important, compared to 75% in 2010. Confidence in higher ed has fallen more steeply among Republicans, with 40% saying college is not too important.

The percentage of Americans who consider a college education "very important" has slipped below the majority level.

news.gallup.com

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · 26d

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he wants the federal government to receive half the funds generated from university patents that were the result of federally-funded research: "I think if we fund it and they invent a patent, the...taxpayer should get half the benefit."

Commerce Sec. Wants Half of University Patent Money

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Axios he wants the federal government to get half the dollars generated from patents that universities and their researchers develop with federal funding, the ou...

University of Oregon laying off around 60 employees

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 11

Facing a $25-30 million deficit, the University of Oregon has laid off almost 120 employees over the past few months. 59 vacant positions were also eliminated, including 14 tenure-track faculty positions.

Overall, the university has let go of almost 120 employees and eliminated 59 vacant jobs this year.

Loss of international students affects enrollment growth at UW campuses

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 11

More than half of UW System's 13 universities have increased their enrollment over last year's figures. UW-Madison's enrollment is essentially flat––about 250 fewer students out of nearly 52,000 last year. Campuses in Whitewater, Green Bay and Parkside showed notable growth over last year.

New freshman enrollment across the Universities of Wisconsin campuses is up an average of 3 percent this fall, but “significant declines” in international students has kept overall enrollment flat.

www.wpr.org

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 9

At a speech at Hillsdale College, Education Secretary Linda McMahon says higher education broken and that "(d)ecline is a choice, and too many college leaders today have made that choice and failed to own up to it." McMahon is on a national tour touting her Returning Education to the States plan.

McMahon Dings University Leaders, Cites Hillsdale as Model

The education secretary says higher ed is in decline. Critics say her speech outlining her vision for the sector misrepresents the reality on campuses.

Trump Administration Takes Next Step in Dismantling ED

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 9

The Department of Education is shifting career and technical education programs to the Dept. of Labor, a move that some see as another step in dismantling the department. Senators Tammy Baldwin, Patty Murray and Congresswoman Rosa DaLauro call the move an illegal attempt to dismantle the department.

The Trump administration has taken another step toward dismantling the Department of Education, creating a new integrated “state plan portal” that will allow the Department of Labor to jointly adminis...

We Are Here | Driving Health, Opportunity & Stronger Communities

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 9

ICYMI: PROFS is working with State Sen. Kelda Roys and others to advance legislation that would ban firearms on Wisconsin's public college and university campuses.
www.dailycardinal.com/article/2025...

Student and UW faculty groups support the legislation

The Public Representation of the Faculty Senate (PROFS) and Students Demand Action (SDA) UW-Madison chapter both are working with lawmakers to pass the bill.

Jack O’Meara, a lobbyist for PROFS, said the bill is “very important,” as campus safety is a top priority of students and faculty alike.

“The faculty have a statutory role in managing the university, and the faculty have expressed concerns about the safety of the university and the potential of guns being brought onto campus,” O’Meara told The Daily Cardinal.

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 8

YouTube video by Big Ten Conference

youtu.be

UW-Madison, other Big Ten campuses push back against Trump cuts with TV ad

PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 8

ICYMI: The Big Ten Academic Alliance launched a new television ad aimed at countering attacks on higher education by the Trump administration. The ad focuses on the impact of research and will air during Big Ten sporting events this fall.

“We’ve always been here,” says the ad, which underscores the myriad ways college campuses fuel the American economy.

madison.com

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PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 8

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Kelly Meyerhofer looks how federal orders have impacted graduate students in science. UW-Madison biochemistry student David Rivera-Kohr: "The anti-science and anti-education attitude of the Trump administration are going to be very damaging to innovative advances."

Amid Trump cuts, some UW students question their futures in science — and in America

Institutions outside the U.S. are wooing researchers amid uncertainty in the American research landscape. The message is resonating with some UW scientists.

www.jsonline.com

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PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 4

You may have seen a new tv spot from the B1G last week. The Academic Alliance's 30-second ad was largely a defense of public higher education and focused on the contributions of each institution in science, health care, and their local communities. Response from campus leaders was mostly favorable.

It’s Not a ‘Mutual-Defense Compact.’ But a New Ad From 18 Universities Aims to Send a Message.

The Big Ten’s member institutions have collaborated on a 30-second TV spot that will air during conference football games and other sporting events.

www.chronicle.com

UPDATE: University of California campaigns to stop federal research funding cuts

Reposted by PROFS

EdSource @edsource.org · Sep 3

The University of California has launched the Speak Up for Science campaign to counteract federal threats to cut research funding in the upcoming budget.

The latest education news updates from EdSource.

edsource.org

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PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Sep 2

Swarthmore's Daniel Laurison on higher ed's fight for democracy: We need to protect students, faculty and our communities from government reprisals, and to fight attacks on our institutions and democracy in the public sphere, in the legal arena and through nonviolent civil disobedience and protest.

Amid Trump’s attacks on higher ed, professors need to keep standing up for our democracy | Opinion

Across the nation, there has been a groundswell of academics who have decided to speak out for their institutions — and we all must keep doing so.

share.inquirer.com

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PROFS @profsuwmadison.bsky.social · Aug 28

GOP-led legislatures are taking aim at faculty senates, and in many cases rendering them advisory only. In the case of Texas, faculty senates will effectively be eliminated on September 1. The Chronicle cites the removal of faculty governance from state statutes in 2015 as basis for today's trend.

State by State, Republicans Rein in Faculty Senates

Republican politicians say that professors are using governance bodies to advance ideological agendas. Faculty leaders fear they’re being written out of decision-making.

www.chronicle.com