BOOM. The AAUP is suing Texas A&M University System over their censorship policy that prohibits faculty from discussing topics & viewpoints related to race, sexual orientation, & gender. www.aclutx.org/app/uploads/... 1

“If faculty are constantly looking for the exit door, that’s going to have devastating effects on the quality of teaching and research that takes place at that institution.” — Isaac Kamola, director of the AAUPs’ Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom.

Professors Notch Court Wins Over States Banning ‘Woke’ Teaching

Courtroom victories for public university professors over state teaching restrictions on race, gender, and unconscious bias are beginning to define the bounds of unlawful political oversight of higher...

news.bloomberglaw.com

In a historic move, @aaup.org is reclaiming higher ed by endorsing Abdul El-Sayed for US Senate. As we build toward a future in which education is free of debt, fear, and censorship, join us to show up loud and proud for Dr. El-Sayed!

AAUP@aaup.org · 6d ago

The AAUP is proud to endorse Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate in the Michigan Democratic primary. Dr. El-Sayed is a fierce champion for debt-free & tuition-free higher education & will be an invaluable ally for academic freedom & higher education as a public good in Washington.

"There's an extreme, radical, right-wing agenda coming out of the federal government targeting higher education. The AAUP won’t exist in an ivory tower and wait for politics to be done to its members. That’s not the AAUP of 2026." – Todd Wolfson, AAUP President

AAUP Embraces Political Role With Candidate Endorsements

The group says the move is a first in its over-100-year existence, and part of countering government threats. Critics say AAUP has lost its neutrality.

insidehighered.com

“Genuine intellectual diversity requires time for reflection, institutional independence, historical depth, ethical questioning, & the freedom to pursue research unconstrained by immediate market demands. These conditions cannot flourish where knowledge itself has become increasingly commodified.”

Higher Ed Can’t Be Neutral in an Age of Brutality. It Must Choose Democracy.

Contemporary proponents of “institutional neutrality” fail to grasp that universities have never been outside politics.

truthout.org

“This plan raises profound concerns about the future of publicly funded science. It does nothing to make anyone healthier or safer, and it isn’t what Americans want.” — Todd Wolfson & Randi Weingarten @proftwolf.bsky.social @rweingarten.bsky.social #academicsky

Trump wants smarter computers, dumber people | Will Bunch Newsletter

Plus, the Gen Z revolution takes on India.

inquirer.com

New #RaceClass Podcast is out. We dive into Texas GOP's assault on its own universities. Lots of tactics, strategies & people(!) plucked straight from DeSantis' own effort to resegregate & undermine Florida's once heralded institutions. soundcloud.com/user-8088721...

Ep. 66 | Why Education Scares Texas' GOP

Why is Texas' GOP so scared to educate their own students? Jon & Arnie discuss the rising repression across Texas' public universities. The Texas state legislature, with help from handpicked rightwing

soundcloud.com

Jonathan Feingold@jpygold.bsky.social · 2w ago

It's come to this. The people are standing up to protect Texas' public universities from their own administrators & government. *People’s Hearing on Protecting Ethnic and Women’s and Gender Studies in Texas Higher Education* Wednesday, August 12, 2026 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

"The story of Steven Thrasher shows how this network of government extortion and repression has had a powerful impact pressuring campuses to fire dissenting faculty and silence free speech." @thrasherxy.bsky.social #academicsky

My @insidehighered.com column today examines @thrasherxy.bsky.social and Northwestern in light of the recent @aaup.org report on government extortion. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

OUT TODAY, the AAUP just released the first comprehensive account of how the Trump administration has taken the same playbook it's used on law firms & foreign governments & turned it on American universities. US higher ed has, in effect, become a target of a massive extortion racket. 🧵

New Report on Extorted Compliance Charges “Massive Extortion Racket” Against Higher Ed

A new AAUP report, "Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance," exposes how the Trump administration has extended its pay-to-play approach to gov...

aaup.org

the @aft.org @aaup.org @legaldefensefund.bsky.social complaint against Texas Tech is a banger. Apparently the word "systemic" is out because it will trigger the Regents. And oh yea, no reading Ta-Nehisi Coates. The fear these folks have of educated 20 year olds is something to behold.

@higheredheist.com once again has the goods. This time detailing the conflicts of interest that abound in the corporate structure of DeSantis’s accrediting agency, The Commission for Public Higher Education, Inc. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 substack.com/home/post/p-...

Do You Have Any Idea Who You Are Getting Into Business With—Or What Business You're Getting Into?

For the General Counsels of the Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas Public University Systems—Et Al.

substack.com

"Nice federal science grant you got there, shame if someone cut it off because you didn't swear your ideological allegiance like we told you to...👀

‘A razor’s edge’: How colleges are navigating civil rights probes under Trump

Some colleges have cut deals, while others have fought back against federal officials. Both come with risks, legal experts say.

highereddive.com

"What I found most encouraging in the ruling was the rejection of Florida’s claim that paying faculty members’ salaries gave the state the right to control their classroom speech. The opposite decision would have fundamentally changed public higher education."

How the Stop WOKE Act Ruling Strengthened Academic Freedom

A conversation with Tim Cain, an academic freedom expert and professor of higher education at the University of Georgia.

insidehighered.com

“A settlement with this administration does not get them off your back." “It’s strange to students, faculty, and alums: Why are you so eager to settle?” 🤔 @yaleaaup.bsky.social

Yale caught between Trump administration pressure and a campus that wants to fight

Leaders are weighing a settlement over reverse discrimination claims amid criticism from students, faculty and alumni.

washingtonpost.com

“Whatever these definitions are, they need to be followed in a way that is extremely literal and by the book. And we will be quite vigilant with our administrators about not doing anything extra to try to please politicians.” — Michael Smith, Emporia State University AAUP President 🔥🔥🔥

‘Chilling effect’: Kansas professors alarmed by new Regents definitions of CRT, DEI

Definitions of critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion, recently approved by the Kansas Board of Regents, worry some Kansas professors and academic freedom advocates who say they coul...

hanfordsentinel.com

“The odious whiff of Jim Crow.” — Dr. Daniel HoSang, president of Yale AAUP on the Trump administration’s bogus investigation into Yale admissions. #defendhighered @yaleaaup.bsky.social

Please join us on Thursday for Democratizing Knowledge: Creation Beyond the University, hosted by @debtcollective.bsky.social Every crisis is a hinge point. What does the future of scholarship look like? When: Jul 16, 2026 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm ET Register here: debtcollective.org/event/colleg...

Important thread on the most recent threats to academic freedom ⬇️

AAUP-South Carolina@aaup-sc.org · 4w ago

We join with faculty in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas to note with dismay that central tenets of the AAUP have disappeared from the Principles of Accreditation of the Commission on Colleges and Universities (formerly SACSCOC). 🧵 1/8 sacscoc.org/principles-r...

Nothing says "intellectual diversity" quite like a mandatory law dictating forced enrollment in a bureaucratic safe space for policed thought. Ohio lawmakers want you to think freely, or else. 👀

A bill mandates Ohio university students take a required course at 'intellectual diversity centers'

That requirement: Ohio university students must complete a three-credit hour course in American civic literacy to graduate.

woub.org

Remember this?

If the proposed OMB rules pass, the Trump admin could strip funding for scientific researchers at any time if they decide a project no longer fits the "national interest.” Have you filed a comment yet? The deadline is Monday, July 13. #AcademicSky

Stand up for Science

Stand up for Science

fight2win.standupforscience.net

AAUP Alabama@alabamaaaup.bsky.social · 4w ago

Check out Elizabeth Ginexi's excellent breakdown of the OMB's proposed changes to the federal grant rules: open.substack.com/pub/elizabet... Public comments close Monday, 6/13, so we're holding a drop-in Comment-a-Thon tomorrow on Zoom and writing comments together. Message us for the link!

Today, the AAUP & Texas AAUP sued Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton over directives he gave that mandated the censorship & thought policing of thousands of faculty & students leading to the suppression of academic freedom & the pursuit of knowledge. More Here: www.aaup.org/news/aaup-te... 🧵

⏰ Meet the July 13 deadline!

AFT Higher Education@afthighered.bsky.social · last mo.

One week remains to submit a comment to the OMB! Use the link below to share your thoughts and objections to the proposed rule. fight2win.standupforscience.net/campaign/163...

Quick reminder about tonight's event with Timothy Kaufman-Osborn & Constance Penley! Hosted in solidarity with @debtcollective.bsky.social Register here: debtcollective-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Who rules the academy? Join us for a virtual strategy session tomorrow, July 9, at 8 pm ET, hosted by the good folks of @debtcollective.bsky.social Learn how we can exploit university debt dependency to reshape the future of higher ed. Register here: debtcollective-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

“Have we thought about what we’re doing to our students? This is an uncommonly bad idea because at a time when there are calls for critical thinking, calls for more knowledge about civics…what we’re doing is reducing the amount of time that students have to get that in.” — Kenneth Mash, @apscuf.org

Faculty Unions Slam 3-Year Degrees

The American Association of University Professors and American Federation of Teachers came out against three-year degrees after Massachusetts announced plans to adopt them.

insidehighered.com

Todd Wolfson & Randi Weingarten on 3-year degrees: "A bachelor's degree should both prepare students for the workforce & provide deep learning, broad intellectual development, & sustained engagement with faculty & peers—not simply the fastest possible route to the labor market." Full Statement:

Three-year Bachelor’s Degrees Devalue Student Education, Do Nothing to Address Root Cause of Affordability Crisis

The approval of accelerated three-year bachelor’s degrees at Suffolk and Merrimack Universities in Massachusetts threatens academic integrity.

aaup.org

Are the many “Intellectual Freedom Centers” being placed on college campuses nationwide really just mandatory ideological indoctrination centers? 🤔 #AcademicSky

Trump has politicized research & scientific communication, making it harder for researchers to work & communicate their findings. This culture of fear & self-censorship leaves us all sicker & less safe. We must stand up 4 researchers #HigherEdBenefitsEveryone www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

The 3-Pronged Attack on Scientific Communication (opinion)

At the NIH, political appointees exercise extensive control over scientific communication, and research on health communication is under siege.

insidehighered.com

AAUP members came together @ the Higher Ed Summit & Biennial to approve a package of critical proposals that will serve as a sweeping strategic blueprint for our Union to build structural power & go on the offensive against the political & economic threats to higher ed in this moment. 🧵