Five Minnesota college presidents sign letter opposing Trump’s interference in higher education

Five Minnesota college presidents joined nearly 200 leaders of U.S. colleges and universities in signing a letter Tuesday against “unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.”

The letter, drafted by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, called instead for “constructive engagement,” and said the schools don’t oppose “legitimate government oversight” but must reject “undue government intrusion” and the “coercive use of public research funding.”

Five presidents of Minnesota institutions signed the letter: Brian Bruess from the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, Alison Byerly of Carleton College, Deidra Peaslee of St. Paul College, Paul Pribbenow at Augsburg University and Suzanne Rivera from Macalester College.

It’s one of the first public actions Minnesota’s higher education institutions have taken since President Donald Trump was inaugurated and began making dramatic changes to the landscape. And the letter comes at a definitive time for higher education.

“We’ve been looking for ways to speak with one voice,” Pribbenow said in an interview. “I think [the American Association of Colleges and Universities] got it right.”

Pribbenow said he liked the tone of the letter, which calls for more discussion and engagement around higher education issues.

The Trump administration has upended American colleges and universities by cutting research funding and detaining and revoking the visas of hundreds of international students without due process. He’s cracked down on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and initiated investigations and task forces to root out antisemitism on campuses.

Columbia University was an early target for Trump; the New York City university shared a list of policy changes and administrative actions it was making, some required by the federal government, after Trump canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts with the school. Many saw this as Columbia acquiescing to the government’s demands.

But in recent weeks, Harvard has taken a different approach, vowing to fight back against the government’s announcement that it would freeze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to the country’s wealthiest university.

Harvard publicly rebuked Trump’s demands, which included eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, enacting merit-based hiring practices and admission reforms, and lessening faculty and administrators’ power. This week, Harvard announced it’s suing the Trump administration over its proposed funding cuts and what the school sees as threats to academic freedom.

In Minnesota, college and university researchers have protested proposed funding cuts to health and humanities by the Trump administration. The University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus is under a new investigation by the federal Department of Education for antisemitism. And more than 40 international students statewide have had their immigration record terminated or visa revoked.

In St. Paul, the University of St. Thomas had two federal grants cut for being related to DEI programs, but the funding was later restored.

“The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society,” Tuesday’s letter said. “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.”