The University of Chicago did not sign a letter released last Tuesday that criticizes government intervention in American higher education, which included the signatures of more than 500 presidents of institutions of higher education at time of writing.
Titled “A Call for Constructive Engagement,” the letter was organized by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU), of which UChicago is not a member. The authors wrote that they “speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.”
“We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding,” the letter continued, referring to the federal government’s attempts to cancel research contracts.
They added that their “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.”
In concluding, the authors wrote that “[t]he price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society. 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.”
The letter was signed by many of the United States’ leading universities, including Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (a non-member), Carnegie Mellon University, Duke University, and Northwestern University. Other Chicago-area university leaders who signed the letter included those from Chicago State University, Loyola University Chicago, and the University of Illinois Chicago. Among notable non-signatories were Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology.
Members of UChicago faculty issued a letter to University President Paul Alivisatos on April 23 with 251 co-signers, including 24 distinguished service professors, criticizing the University’s decision and calling on Alivisatos to sign the AACU’s letter. They wrote that “at this weighty moment, freedom of speech and academic freedom are in jeopardy.”
Citing the Kalven Report, which outlines the University’s responsibility “actively to defend its interests and its values” when free inquiry is “threaten[ed],” they concluded: “With higher education in the United States under threat, the University of Chicago cannot remain silent.”
Undergraduate Student Government President Elijah Jenkins also issued a statement on April 22 criticizing the University’s refusal to sign the letter.
“As Student Body President, I do not speak for the administration, nor can I assume its reasoning. But I do believe this moment calls for us, as a university community, to reflect deeply on our responsibilities, especially in light of the values and principles we claim to uphold,” Jenkins wrote.
“In moments like these, universities are not asked to take sides in every debate. They are asked to uphold the conditions that make debate possible. I believe the University of Chicago has the intellectual and moral standing to help lead that defense.”
Jenkins’s statement was co-signed by 161 students at time of writing.
Although Alivisatos has not signed the AACU’s letter, in an April 25 email to members of the University community, he reiterated a commitment to the University’s principles and academic freedom.
“The health of our institution and so many other universities and colleges requires a higher education compact that reinforces and enhances a few, but enduring principles: free expression for all, even for those with unpopular viewpoints; a combination of academic freedom and commitment to excellence in all aspects of academic efforts; freedom from discrimination; an openness to brilliant students and scholars from around the world, who are drawn here by the beacon of freedom,” he wrote.
Alivisatos also emphasized the importance of institutional independence, adding that “for any academic institution to retain its integrity, it must retain the autonomy to hire faculty and decide on academic content.”
“The University of Chicago has blazed a trail through its enduring commitment to these ideals for more than 130 years,” he concluded. “[W]e will hold fast to them in the years ahead.”
The email did not outline any specific steps the University would take to uphold these principles moving forward.
