Virginia university presidents among petition signers decrying federal ‘overreach’

The presidents of the University of Virginia, Hollins University and Virginia Wesleyan University have signed a letter endorsed by more than 200 university presidents and other higher education leaders condemning what it calls the Trump White House’s “unprecedented government overreach and political interference.”

The American Association of Colleges and Universities posted the public statement, titled “A Call for Constructive Engagement,” on Tuesday. Among the signers are the president of Harvard University and the interim president of Columbia University, schools whose federal funding has been threatened by President Donald Trump’s administration in recent weeks.

Other colleges and universities, including several public schools in Virginia, have taken actions to protect their federal funding since Trump took office Jan. 20, including dissolving offices dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. Virginia Commonwealth University, U.Va. and Virginia Tech are among the state’s public universities whose boards have taken such actions.

Many university-affiliated researchers and administrators have voiced concerns about medical research funding from the National Institutes for Health and other federal sources being cut off, arguing that such cuts would curtail efforts to cure and treat numerous diseases.

The AAC&U statement reads in part: “As leaders of America’s colleges, universities, and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education. We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live and work on our campuses. We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding.”

The statement goes on to say, “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.”

At some universities, including several in Virginia, international students have had their visas revoked, and in some situations, international students who participated in pro-Palestine protests have been arrested and detained in facilities run by ICE.

According to news reports, at least 35 current college students and recent alumni in Virginia have had their visas revoked, and some have filed lawsuits claiming they were denied due process. Nationally, more than 900 students have had their visas revoked or their legal statuses terminated, according to an Associated Press review.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, U.Va. President Jim Ryan, Hollins University President Mary Dana Hinton and Virginia Wesleyan President Scott D. Miller were the only three current Virginia university presidents who have signed the document, although U.Va. Provost Ian Baucom, who is leaving Virginia to become president of Middlebury College in Vermont, and former James Madison University President Jonathan Alger, who now leads American University, are also among the signers.

“I signed this statement on behalf of Hollins to protect the essence of our mission, which is my most important work,” said Hinton, who serves on the AAC&U board of directors. “At its core, this call is about safeguarding the fundamental freedoms that allow higher education to thrive: academic freedom, the open exchange of ideas and the pursuit of truth.” 

In addition to presidents with Virginia ties, several Ivy League leaders are among the signers, including Harvard President Alan M. Garber and Claire Shipman, acting president of Columbia.

Harvard University has filed suit to halt a federal freeze on more than $2.2 billion in grants after recently announcing it would defy the Trump administration‘s demands to limit activism on campus.

The Trump administration had called in an April 11 letter to Harvard for broad government and leadership reforms at the university and admissions policy changes. Garber soon after said the university would not bend to the demands, and the U.S. government swiftly froze billions of dollars in federal funding.

Previously, New York City’s Columbia University agreed to tighten rules regarding protests on campus after the White House said in March that it had terminated $400 million in grants and contracts mostly related to medical and scientific research.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, argues its campaign against Harvard, Columbia and other schools is a fight against antisemitism.

According to the AAC&U website, the organization continues to accept signatures from current leaders of colleges, universities and scholarly societies.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.