Notre Dame President Fr. Robert Dowd and Saint Mary’s President Katie Conboy have signed a public statement released by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) that protests “unprecedented government overreach and political interference” by the Trump administration regarding institutions of higher education.
“Our 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,” the letter states.
The letter, released Tuesday and now signed by over 400 leaders of colleges, universities and scholarly societies, comes amid the Trump administrations escalating actions to limit government funding to universities and eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that the Trump administration has called discriminatory.
Notre Dame is a member of the AAC&U, while Saint Mary’s is not.
The signatories of the letter say that they “are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight.” However, they argue that the federal government’s actions amount to intrusion and coercion.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has frozen and threatened to freeze funding for colleges it alleges have failed to protect students from antisemitism or have engaged in racial discrimination through their DEI programs. Those affected include Harvard, Cornell, Northwestern, Brown, Columbia, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.
Notre Dame is also being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for alleged race-based discrimination in its graduate programs, but the Trump administration has not paused funding for the University.
“The 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 concludes.
