Vetoed

From Politico: Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a measure... that would have required the California State University to compile annual reports on students who violate campus protest rules... [It requested UC to do he same.]

Key context: Originally, AB 2551 would have repealed a 2024 law that was signed in the wake of student-led protests against Israel’s war against Hamas to establish restrictions on campus protests. The law, SB 1287, required universities to update their codes of conduct to address behavior that “creates a hostile environment for students” and instruct students on how to engage in civil exchanges.

...A number of Jewish organizations opposed the final version of Elhawary’s bill, citing concerns that it was a first step in an effort to repeal the protest rules. The measure was backed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the California Faculty Association and the University of California Student Association, who argue that the current protest rules have chilled speech...

Full story at https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/09/newsom-vetoes-measure-that-would-collect-campus-protest-data-01093919.

Text of vetoed bill at:

https://ia600402.us.archive.org/9/items/2-final-hjaa-report.-the-soil-beneath-the-encampments/AB%202551%20TEXT%20forum%20to%20discuss%20TPM%20rules%20vetoed%209-27-2026.pdf.

Veto message from governor at:

https://ia600402.us.archive.org/9/items/2-final-hjaa-report.-the-soil-beneath-the-encampments/AB-2551%20VETO%20forum%20to%20discuss%20TPM%20rules%209-27-2026.pdf. 

Food for Thought - Interpretation

From the California Post concerning Chancellor Frenk's statement on the law school 9/11 conference:

“I chose the words of my statement carefully and deliberately,” [Frenk] said. “Some subsequent accounts have characterized it as a condemnation, rebuke or repudiation of the symposium. A careful read of my statement will fail to find any of those words..."

A rep for Frenk told The California Post that the chancellor’s statement was “absolutely a condemnation” of the 9/11 event when asked if the academic leader’s statement was in fact a condemnation...

Full story at https://nypost.com/2026/09/18/us-news/ucla-chancellor-pressured-to-retract-rebuke-over-event-with-9-11-mastermind-lawyer/.

Straws in the Wind - Part 473

From the Chronicle of Higher Education: New faculty hires at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma — the state’s only public liberal-arts college — can no longer be offered tenure, following a contentious vote by the university’s Board of Regents last week. Instead, USAO instructors are to be hired on “continuing, renewable appointments.” The institution is also removing references to tenure from its faculty handbook, though professors hired on the tenure track before July 1 can continue on that path...

The policy changes codify an executive order directing most of Oklahoma’s public institutions to “phase out” tenure. Since Gov. J. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, signed the executive order in February, many faculty members across the Sooner State have hoped it would be short-lived: It’s set to expire 90 days after Stitt, who is term-limited, leaves office in January, unless his successor opts to continue it. (Representatives of Mike Mazzei, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, did not respond to several requests for comment about whether he would renew the order.) ...

Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/pushed-by-the-governor-a-small-liberal-arts-college-is-erasing-tenure-from-its-faculty-handbook. 

Round 1 Loss for UC

From the LA Times: In a conservative win, campus members of an education advocacy organization may refer to transgender people using names and pronouns that are not consistent with that individual’s gender identity, according to a federal court ruling that restricts University of California anti-harassment policies. The ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Fred W. Slaughter of California’s Central District does not fully invalidate UC’s wide-ranging anti-harassment policy, which covers misgendering, sexual abuse and stalking among campus community members...

The preliminary injunction — a temporary ruling while the case against UC proceeds — only protects members of the conservative group Defending Education. The group offers membership to anyone for free. It is unclear how many members the group has on UC campuses. Slaughter said he found Defending Education likely to succeed on its 1st Amendment challenge, writing that the UC policy “compels speech and is viewpoint-based.” ...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-19/uc-transgender-harassment-policy-free-speech-lawsuit.

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Lawsuit available at:

https://defendinged.org/lawsuits/defending-education-files-suit-against-the-university-of-california-for-unconstitutional-speech-policies/. 

===

If the judge is saying the plaintiffs are likely to succeed, maybe it's time to settle?

Letter from Academic Senate to Chancellor / Letter from Chancellor to Senate

September 16, 2026

Dear Chancellor Frenk,

We are writing to express our concerns and reservations about the press release you issued on September 11, 2026, titled “Chancellor Julio Frenk comment regarding media coverage on Sept. 10.” The document contained several statements that have been interpreted as criticizing the law school event “25 Years After 9/11: Reimaging Freedom, Justice, and Security” and its organizers.

The University of California’s (UC) policy (APM 010) on academic freedom is clear and unequivocal:

The principles of academic freedom protect freedom of inquiry and research, freedom of teaching, and freedom of expression and publication. These freedoms enable the University to advance knowledge and to transmit it effectively to its students and to the public.

Academic freedom requires that teaching and scholarship be assessed by reference to the professional standards that sustain the University’s pursuit and achievement of knowledge. The substance and nature of these standards properly lie within the expertise and authority of the faculty as a body. [emphasis added]

The AAUP has long affirmed “its belief that the freedom to hear is an essential condition of a university community and an inseparable part of academic freedom” and that “the right to examine issues and seek truth is prejudiced to the extent that the university is open to some but not to others whom members of the university also judge desirable to hear.”

The UCLA Senate’s Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF) laid out guidelines last year for dealing with challenging material in the classroom, which also apply to other academic endeavors:

Classroom materials dealing with sensitive topics such as religion, nationality, ethnicity, or deeply held political views may sometimes be taken as disrespectful and hurtful. Those materials dealing with violent, even horrific, events may be emotionally disturbing and their sudden introduction may retraumatize survivors.

In a November 2025 response to CAF’s May 2025 statement “In Defense of Academic Freedom and the University,” you and EVCP Hunt wrote:

We fully agree that academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and shared governance are essential to the University's mission of discovery, learning, and public service. These values have long enabled UCLA to advance knowledge across disciplines and foster open, rigorous, and respectful debate in the pursuit of truth.

We recognize the challenges currently facing higher education, both nationally and globally, and share the committee's concern for preserving an environment in which faculty, students, and researchers can pursue their scholarly work free from undue interference. UCLA remains committed to these core values and to working collaboratively with the Academic Senate to ensure that they continue to guide our community.

As elected leaders of the Los Angeles Division of the UC Academic Senate, we reiterate and reinforce these foundational policies and values related to academic freedom. Particularly during times of grief, stress, political division and pressure, it is of the utmost importance for the UCLA Administration and Senate faculty to work collaboratively to uphold our deeply held principles and protect academic freedom. As you observed, “When we face difficult challenges and tough decisions, we find strength in staying connected.”

Sincerely,

Tim Groeling, Chair

Catherine Sugar, Vice Chair

Megan McEvoy. Immediate Past Chair

===========================

September 17, 2026

Dear Chair Groeling, Vice Chair Sugar, and Immediate Past Chair McEvoy,

Thank you for your thoughtful letter. I take the concerns you raise seriously, particularly because they touch upon one of the most fundamental principles of a university: academic freedom.

Let me begin unequivocally: UCLA is committed to academic freedom. It is a core tenet of our mission and a bedrock of higher education. My September 11 statement does not change that fundamental commitment or the protections it affords faculty, symposia organizers, speakers and participants.

Faculty must remain free to pursue difficult questions, organize academic programs, select speakers and engage ideas that may be controversial or deeply contested. Those protections are essential to the work of a great university, including the role of the School of Law in examining consequential questions of law, justice and policy.

The School of Law symposium operated within the protections of academic freedom and proceeded as planned, with its program, speakers and academic content unchanged.

The statement expressed my support for Professor Judea Pearl and others in our community who carry their own lived experiences of September 11 and its aftermath. It also reaffirmed UCLA’s opposition to antisemitism and terrorism.

I chose the words of my statement carefully and deliberately. Some subsequent accounts have characterized it as a condemnation, rebuke or repudiation of the symposium. A careful read of my statement will fail to find any of those words. Furthermore, the statement did not criticize the School of Law or question the validity of legal representation, including for individuals accused of horrific acts.

My statement underscores that UCLA’s protection of academic freedom does not constitute institutional endorsement of every speaker’s viewpoint or program presented under those protections. That principle applies broadly to events across our campus, and we will make that distinction clear in our communications.

The key point of my statement is that we can uphold academic freedom while also expressing support for members of our community who are hurting. A university is more than a collection of individual rights and freedoms. It is a community, and community carries with it obligations of reciprocity.

What do we owe one another, particularly when we profoundly disagree? For me, the answer begins with mutual respect, empathy and recognition of one another’s humanity. Academic freedom protects our ability to engage the most difficult ideas. It does not require indifference to one another or to the impact felt by members of our community. We must safeguard the freedom to pursue scholarship, invite speakers, test assumptions and express views that others may find deeply objectionable. At the same time, we must foster a culture of reciprocity in which those freedoms coexist with respect for the dignity and humanity of others.

At this moment of extraordinary polarization, reciprocity is essential to what holds a university community together. I am committed to safeguarding academic freedom and preserving free expression. I am equally committed to sustaining the mutual respect, care and reciprocity that allow those freedoms — and our community — to flourish.

Sincerely,

Julio Frenk

Chancellor

---

Source: https://dms.senate.ucla.edu/issues/issue/?11554.Academic.Senate.Leadership.Letter.on.Academic.Freedom. 

Straws in the Wind - Part 468

From Inside Higher Ed: The U.S. Military Academy at West Point cannot restrict what civilian faculty write or say publicly, a federal court judge ruled... The ruling permanently overturns a sweeping policy that required faculty members speaking in their professional capacity to seek prior approval for any external speech, including journal publications, media interviews and blog and social media posts. U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel, a George W. Bush appointee, sided with Tim Bakken, the West Point law professor who sued the academy in September 2025, arguing the new policy was unconstitutional. In [her] ruling, Seibel agreed the policy violates the First Amendment. She also ruled that West Point may not prevent Bakken from “expressing or offering” his opinions or beliefs about the subject matter under discussion during his classes.

West Point could appeal the decision...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/09/10/judge-declares-west-point-faculty-gag-order-unconstitutional. 

Kirk

From the Daily Californian: ...UC Berkeley students turned out both to celebrate and to mourn for the one-year anniversary of conservative political activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s death. The day’s activities, which began mournfully but ended with a separate celebration of Kirk’s death from students who opposed his politics, also drew attention from the federal government. Saturday evening, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau replied to a post on X calling for the deportation of multiple international students who attended a “Kirkversary” event with: “Thanks. On it!” The Department of State did not immediately reply to a request for comment...

Members of TPUSA at UC Berkeley gave speeches and tabled on Sproul Plaza in commemoration of Kirk’s legacy. The chapter placed a large portrait of Kirk front and center on its table, surrounded by posters with various themes of freedom and American patriotism... A few hours later, ...a bustling crowd of students gathered on the glade for the “Kirkversary.” The event, advertised by the Instagram account @berkeleyrankings, brought students together to sing, cheer and boo at Kirk’s memory... Many students, ...though outspoken about their disagreement with Kirk’s politics, also described great concern with the idea that someone could be killed for exercising their right to free speech...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/student-life/uc-berkeley-students-mourn-celebrate-on-1-year-anniversary-of-charlie-kirk-s-death/article_c89bfef6-3804-4277-811c-83447660db92.html. 

25th Anniversary: September 11, 2001 - Part 3

The fallout from the Sept. 11th UCLA Law School event continues:

https://dailybruin.com/2026/09/12/julio-frenk-condemns-symposium-featuring-attorney-for-alleged-9-11-conspirator 

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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-12/ucla-chancellor-law-school-9-11-event

====

https://x.com/yudapearl/status/2098927762669215919

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https://newsroom.ucla.edu/chancellor-julio-frenk-comment-event-coverage-sept-10 

25th Anniversary: September 11, 2001 - Part 2

From the California Post: UCLA’s top official has condemned a 9/11 event hosted by the college featuring a range of controversial speakers — including the defense lawyer for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The school’s chancellor, Julio Frenk, said in exclusive remarks to the California Post that he supported longtime UCLA professor Judea Pearl, who tore into the university for hosting the lawyer representing the jihadist behind the execution of his journalist son, journalist Daniel Pearl.

“Judea Pearl is a deeply valued member of the UCLA community, and I have profound respect for him, for the memory of his son Daniel, and for his decades-long commitment to combating antisemitism, terrorism and hatred,” Frenk said.

“The brutal murder of Daniel Pearl was an act of unspeakable evil, and I support Judea and his family. We also mourn the thousands of lives lost from the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, as well as the suffering of countless families and communities.”

He went on to blast event, which covered two days and also included an appearance by a Yale professor who labeled post-9/11 counterterrorism efforts “racist.”

“UCLA’s values are clear. We reject antisemitism and terrorism in all their forms, and we believe our campus must be a place where the dignity of every member of our community is respected,” Frenk continued.

“Nothing about this event at the UCLA School of Law, which we do not endorse, changes or qualifies those commitments.”

Daniel Pearl was decapitated by Mohammed in Pakistan in 2002 after being lured there for a supposed interview with an Islamic scholar. One of Mohammed’s lawyers, Melanie T. Partow, was set to speak at the event on Friday.

Frenk suggested the event — which invited no victims of the attack, but welcomed leftist speakers, including one who said Israel “should be attacked”— had given voice to the wrong guests.

“Academic freedom does not require us to be neutral about antisemitism or terrorism,” said Frenk, who became UCLA’s seventh chancellor in January 2025.

“Speaking at UCLA should never be mistaken for the university’s approval, endorsement, or acceptance of an individual’s viewpoints, or our institution’s indifference to the pain their presence may cause members of our community.

“In this case, I understand why Professor Pearl and others are deeply hurt. Judea’s voice, and the history behind it, deserve to be heard with the seriousness and humanity they demand.”

Judea told The Post that he was taken aback by the event.

“Colleagues inform me that, sadly, UCLA Law School is guilty of such practice: Weaponizing the painful days of 9/11 and 10/7 to promote hateful ideologies,” he said.

He added: “Having lost a son to such an ideology, I stand ashamed of my university.”

The educator added that he felt any 9/11 event should commemorate victims of the attack.

“A September 11th event should be used to commemorate the victims of that attack: Innocent Americans,” he said...

==

Full story at https://nypost.com/2026/09/11/us-news/ucla-chancellor-condemns-controversial-9-11-campus-event/.

==

Note 1: Before the chancellor commented, a "spokesman" for UCLA had released the following statement, according to the article above:

“Events organized by an individual UCLA Law program, centers, or institutes — and the views expressed — do not imply endorsement by UCLA Law, and neither the language of this symposium nor the views of its speakers should be understood as representing the school as a whole,” the spokesman said. “UCLA Law does not review or approve these choices, nor does the school withdraw invitations because a speaker or viewpoint is sensitive or controversial.”

==

Note 2: According to the Daily Bruin, Murphy Hall originally helped publicize the Law School event at a local neighborhood council:

...Carmen Zambrano, an assistant director for UCLA Government Relations, said... that the School of Law will host a symposium on the impacts of 9/11 on the United States’ legal and political systems after 25 years...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/09/09/north-westwood-neighborhood-council-recap-sept-2-2.

Yale Deal - Part 12

From the Yale Daily News: For the first time, first-year students were mandated to attend an orientation event that asked them to consider the interplay between higher education and democracy. The conversation — led by Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis and History professor Beverly Gage ’94 — took place in two sessions... The conversations, which centered on the relationship between higher education and American democracy, touched on topics including campus protests and free speech — which were also discussed at a teach-in marketed as an alternative to the panels themselves...

Hours before the first session began, over 300 alumni, students, professors and local union members gathered on Cross Campus in a teach-in, headlined “Democratize Yale,” to demand the protection of student free speech and assembly, the democratization of the University board of trustees, the codification of academic freedom and that Yale not settle in negotiations with the Trump administration.

...Lewis said during the later session that protest regulations were necessary to “ensure the ability of each student to get an education, the ability to back them, and to teach.” He noted Yale has “rules regarding the time and place and manner, not content related rules,” and that protesters can protest an issue from both sides...

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/first-years-attend-panel-on-protests-and-yale-s-place-in-democracy.

===

From the Chronicle of Higher Education: ...There were... indications that at least one national organization is interested in the fight. Indivisible, an anti-Trump advocacy group founded during President Trump’s first term, previously bought billboards on Interstate 95 to urge Yale not to settle. It provided signs and T-shirts for this rally. The event seemed to go off without a hitch, although [Alex Chen, Yale’s undergraduate student-body president] said later that “free expression facilitators,” staff members trained in Yale’s free-expression policies, had approached him to ask what was going on. “It’s a little bit chilling,” he said, “to have them watching your every move.”

In addition, two people identifying themselves as staffers from the Office of Public Affairs told reporters that they could not be on Yale’s grounds. Instead, journalists had to stand on a public sidewalk, about 250 feet away from the protest. “It’s to protect the privacy of the students and faculty,” one of the staff members said.

Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/yale-activists-defy-rules-to-warn-against-deal-with-trump.

Straws in the Wind - Part 455

From the NY Times: After 17 years of teaching science at West Point, Dr. Adam Kalkstein says he was suddenly ordered last year to cut from his curriculum information about the human causes of climate change, according to a new lawsuit filed against the U.S. Military Academy. The change was immoral and potentially illegal, Dr. Kalkstein says he told Brig. Gen. Shane R. Reeves, who at the time was dean of West Point. Instead of upholding Army values, Dr. Kalkstein said he felt like a liar and a fraud. General Reeves stormed out of the room when Dr. Kalkstein declined a suggestion that he resign, according to the lawsuit. Six months later, the tenured professor was told his contract would not be renewed.

Filed in the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit accuses West Point of breaking the law by violating Dr. Kalkstein’s First Amendment rights by forbidding him from teaching about human-driven climate change, an order that required him “to omit a massive, fundamental, essential component of the court and to defy science,” according to the suit...

Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/us/politics/west-point-climate-professor-lawsuit.html.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 195

From the Harvard Crimson: Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh told Peer Advising Fellows... that Harvard plans to enforce its new cap on A grades by automatically converting all of a course’s A’s to A-’s if professors refuse to bring their grades under the limit — but backtracked in [a later] interview..., saying the mechanism remains only a proposal. Claybaugh told PAFs that professors who entered too many A grades would first receive an alert instructing them to bring their course into compliance. If they nevertheless submitted grades above the limit, she said, all of the course’s A grades would automatically become A-’s, according to four students in attendance and a recording of the event obtained by The Crimson.

...The comments, made during a fireside chat that attendees had been told was off the record, offer the clearest indication yet of how Harvard could enforce the controversial cap once it becomes mandatory, answering a question that has loomed over the policy since faculty approved it in May. Claybaugh [later] backed away from the certainty of her...  remarks, saying the automatic conversion mechanism was only one option under consideration. She said a committee is still considering how to enforce the cap. While she said the mechanism “seems like the easiest enforcement option,” she added that she was unsure whether it was “physically possible in our system.”

“It sounds mean to hold a gun to the student’s head, but the thing about our faculty is they really care about our students,” Claybaugh said... The enforcement question has taken on added urgency as some professors have publicly said they may refuse to follow the cap...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/8/28/harvard-grade-cap-enforcement/. 

Something is missing

UC-Berkeley's Academic Senate released a report: "UC Berkeley Academic Senate Task Force Report on Free Speech, Academic Freedom, and Campus Climate in Higher Education."* Inside Higher Ed summarizes it as follows:

A faculty task force at the University of California, Berkeley, determined that—in addition to policies protecting free speech and academic freedom—a campus climate “characterized by trust and good faith” is essential to achieving the university’s core mission, according to a report released Thursday.**

But, at least to yours truly, something is missing from the document. Apart from rights, privileges, and means of expression, it is a value of a university to know what you are talking about. If there was more attention to that simple value, the "climate" would be (much) improved. Herd behavior and TikTok depictions are not a route to knowing what you are talking about. 

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*https://academic-senate.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/af.fs.cc_tf_report_final.pdf.

**https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/08/21/berkeley-report-says-trusting-campus-climate-vital-mission.

Straws in the Wind - Part 432

From the Chronicle of Higher Education: The Department of Education’s... letter outlining principles for “every postsecondary institution” in the country was a bombshell for two reasons. One: The Trump administration was asking college presidents to sign onto its overarching vision for the sector. Two: Several prominent higher-ed leaders were reported to have helped draft it. The Association of American Universities was reportedly the primary partner... Douglas A. Girod, chancellor of the University of Kansas, was supposed to have been another major player. The very idea caused “great consternation to the KU faculty,” said Ronald M. Barrett-Gonzalez, a professor of aerospace engineering there.

...Andrew D. Martin, chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, issued a statement saying: “For several months, I have participated in broader discussions with the White House and other higher-education leaders about issues affecting the sector. I expect those conversations helped inform the administration’s thinking around their Monday letter. I was not involved, however, in the drafting of the letter.” ...In an interview with The Chronicle, Barbara R. Snyder, president of the AAU, described a complicated feedback process with the Trump administration in which AAU representatives had little control over drafts. She, Girod, and Ronald J. Daniels, president of the Johns Hopkins University, met with officials from the Education Department and the White House two or three times in person and a couple of times over the phone, she said. Girod and Daniels were acting in their capacity as chair and vice chair of AAU’s board. They always met with Trump officials as a group of three, Snyder said.

They provided feedback on drafts, which they did not receive copies of. They were allowed to see them only during the meetings. Without access to past drafts, Snyder said she couldn’t exactly recall what changed over the course of their meetings, but she said: “The first draft we saw was already quite different from the compact, and the final draft is quite different from the first draft. Did they listen to some of our suggestions? Yes. Did they take all of our suggestions? No.” Asked if Snyder’s description of the meetings was accurate, a spokesperson for the Education Department answered with a short statement: “We appreciate the candid dialogue with bold university leaders who are helping refocus higher education on its foundational commitment to academic excellence.” ...

Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/college-leaders-play-down-their-involvement-in-compact-2-0. 

Yale Deal - Part 10

From the Yale Daily News: University President Maurie McInnis failed to assure student leaders that Yale wouldn’t use students’ rights as bargaining chips in its talks with the Trump administration, said four undergraduate and graduate leaders who met with McInnis... The leaders criticized McInnis’ lack of transparency about the talks and the Yale administration’s refusal to make explicit commitments about international students, diversity programs and transgender students. McInnis also dismissed that Yale’s negotiations would mirror the deals peer institutions have made with the Trump administration in areas outside of admissions, one attendee said.

...An information page about the Department of Justice negotiations that was recently posted on the University president’s website notes that a deal would not compromise Yale’s independence, academic freedom or its responsibilities to students, faculty and staff...

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/student-leaders-say-mcinnis-meeting-left-them-unassured-on-trump-talks.

Straws in the Wind - Part 427 (Is Penn Mightier?)

From the Daily Pennsylvanian: As Penn President Larry Jameson prepares to step down next year, he leaves behind a reputation as a stabilizing force during a turbulent era for higher education. Jameson announced his intention to leave his position as president by June 2027 in a campus-wide message last month. Since being named interim president in December 2023, he has steered the University toward institutional neutrality and launched campus-wide initiatives while confronting the lasting effects of student protests and federal turmoil. His term as permanent Penn president, which began in March 2025, will be the second shortest — longer only than that of his predecessor, Liz Magill. The University Board of Trustees has begun the search for Penn’s next leader and is currently inviting community feedback through a survey.

...Jameson was appointed interim president in December 2023 after Magill resigned amid backlash for her remarks regarding Penn’s response to antisemitism. The following months were marked by pro-Palestinian protests, culminating in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on College Green which was dismantled by police in May 2024. Weeks later, Penn instituted temporary standards for campus demonstrations — which tightened requirements for event planning and banned encampments — and initiated a review of the Guidelines on Open Expression. Nearly a year into his interim term, Jameson announced new guidelines surrounding Penn’s “response to external events.” At the time, Jameson wrote that Penn would “refrain from institutional statements made in response to local and world events except for those which have direct and significant bearing on University functions” in an email to the University community.

...In April 2025, as Penn and other universities were impacted by sweeping federal changes to higher education, Jameson cited institutional neutrality as the reason for Penn’s quieter stance... Jameson is expected to review the final draft recommendations and publish the new open expression guidelines. The deadline for a finalized version was extended further into the fall following campus pushback...

In March 2025, the Trump administration froze $175 million in federal funding to Penn, criticizing the University’s failure to remove transgender athletes from women’s sports. Penn entered a resolution agreement with the administration in July — becoming the first Ivy League to settle with the White House and restoring the University’s funding...

Full story at https://www.thedp.com/article/2026/08/penn-president-larry-jameson-institutional-neutrality-civil-rights-federal-government-trump.

Straws in the Wind - Part 425 (Open Letter)

From the NY Times: The Trump administration is making another push to persuade university leaders to address policies that it says have eroded trust with the American public, sending an open letter on Monday to college leaders asking them to respond to concerns over academic standards, admissions procedures and tuition costs. The letter, signed by Education Secretary Linda McMahon, is a significant departure from an attempt last year to incentivize universities with a so-called compact that dangled easier access to research funding for schools that embraced the administration’s agenda. That proposal was widely rejected.

...University presidents and governing boards are [now being] asked to address seven subjects — including free speech, foreign influence, artificial intelligence and academic rigor — and post the statements prominently on their websites. Ms. McMahon’s letter, which does not include any funding threats, suggests that changes will improve academia’s reputation among American parents and students. “The dilution of academic standards, opaque admissions policies and a domineering monoculture have badly eroded public trust,” she wrote, adding that “only full candor and transparency can begin to strengthen the bonds between higher education and the American people.”

It was not immediately clear how the nation’s thousands of colleges and universities would respond to Ms. McMahon’s letter. But Ted Mitchell, the president of the American Council on Education, which was not involved in talks with the government before the letter’s release, said he regarded the missive as “a tentative handshake” between the administration and academic institutions. He predicted a significant response. “For many institutions, this is kind of a no-brainer — it’s a fill-in-the-blanks kind of thing if they want to do it,” said Dr. Mitchell, who noted that many of the topics Ms. McMahon asked schools to discuss had already been subjects of immense debate among education leaders...

Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/trump-mcmahon-colleges-letter.html.

Straws in the Wind - Part 422

From Inside Higher Ed: English professor Vinita Prabhakar is suing South Florida State College after she was abruptly fired for teaching a story the college president deemed “political,” according to a complaint filed Wednesday in Florida district court. Prabhakar assigned her freshman English students “Bettering Myself,” an award-winning story by Ottessa Moshfegh that centers on a Catholic school math teacher who drinks to excess and talks about sex with her students. One of her students told Prabhakar the story made them “a bit uncomfortable” ...

Following several days of back-and-forth with other administrators about the assignment, Prabhakar met with South Florida State President Fred Hawkins on Feb. 11. During the meeting, Hawkins said “he would not want his own college-aged daughter reading” the story, and that he didn’t “ever want to see this story again,” the complaint states. He also told Prabhakar he’d been in contact “with Tallahassee” and the Board of Trustees about the matter... A day later, college officials removed Prabhakar from the classroom and told her that her contract would not be renewed... Prabhakar joins a growing list of professors who have sued their institutions after being fired, alleging First Amendment violations...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/07/31/professor-fired-teaching-political-story-sues-college. 

Lawsuit at https://www.fire.org/research-learn/complaint-prabhakar-v-hawkins-et-al. 

Straws in the Wind - Part 421

From the Washington Post: A West Point professor and his colleagues will remain ungagged for now, after the military academy declined to appeal a judge’s ruling that barred the school from restricting professors’ public comments. The West Point policy, adopted early last year, says no professor can give a speech, publish a paper or speak on a podcast without seeking approval from their department head. School leadership announced it a month after President Donald Trump issued an executive order forbidding military service academies from “promoting, advancing or otherwise inculcating” ideas deemed “un-American” or “divisive.” In late 2025, West Point’s longest-serving law professor, Tim Bakken, sued the academy in federal court over the policy...

West Point sought to dismiss the suit. Last month, federal judge Cathy Seibel, a President George W. Bush nominee, issued an interim ruling saying West Point cannot enforce the policy for civilian professors while Bakken’s case proceeds. Seibel also barred West Point from preventing Bakken from sharing his personal opinions with students. The academy had until Monday to appeal her ruling, but it did not do so...

Full story at https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/07/29/west-point-professors-free-comment-publicly-school-declines-appeal-ruling/. 

Yale Deal - Part 9

From the Yale Daily News: University President Maurie McInnis has engaged in private conversations with student leaders, as well as the faculty senate chair, about Yale’s attempts to settle with the Trump administration — a venture that has faced widespread backlash from students, faculty and alumni. Michael Farina, the chair of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Senate, wrote in [an] email to the News that he has spoken with McInnis about the potential settlement and felt optimistic.

“From our conversations, President McInnis’ words and actions are clearly heartfelt and forthright, and she has given us no reason to doubt her absolute sincerity in defending our academic freedom, the university, our faculty, and our students,” he wrote. “She is working to safeguard both Yale’s autonomy and our ability to accept the students of our choice. I am confident she will succeed in protecting both.”

...Four student leaders... met with McInnis... “In our meeting, we advocated for student concerns and shared them with President McInnis. We also sought clarity on what protecting students’ rights in this DOJ probe should look like,” the student leaders wrote in a joint... statement... that they plan to release more information about the meeting and their thoughts on it at a later date...

McInnis has refrained from making public comment about the settlement with the exception of a July 13 email to the Yale community, in which she confirmed that the University is seeking a voluntary resolution to the Department of Justice’s investigations into Yale admissions...

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/in-private-talks-mcinnis-leaves-faculty-leader-assured-on-trump-deal.