University of Minnesota Senate discusses resolution unifying Big Ten schools against Trump actions

The University of Minnesota senate will consider a resolution Thursday banding together Big Ten schools nationwide to fight against any action President Donald Trump’s administration takes against one of its universities.

The special meeting of the University Senate — a group of more than 200 faculty, staff and students from across the U’s system — will discuss a “mutual academic defense compact” resolution just before 4 p.m. Thursday that each of the Big Ten’s 18 universities are expected to consider. According to the Washington Post, faculty and university senates at six Big Ten schools have signed the resolution, but the final decision lies with university administrators.

The resolution notes that “escalating politically motivated actions by governmental bodies pose a significant threat to the foundational principles of American higher education,” calling out the Trump administration for targeting universities to undermine their mission, silence dissenting voices and exert improper control over academics.

“The preservation of one institution’s integrity is the concern of all,” the resolution said, “and an infringement against one member university of the Big Ten shall be considered an infringement against all.”

The resolution requests that U President Rebecca Cunningham propose and help establish the compact, which would pool legal and financial resources to help any institution under “political or legal infringement.”

If passed, it would be the most significant public response that the U has taken to oppose Trump’s actions since he was inaugurated for a second term in January. Since then, his administration has made significant changes, including cutting research funding and humanities grants, detaining or revoking international students’ visas without due process and cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Ivy League schools have been particularly targeted, with Trump canceling $400 million in federal grants and contracts for Columbia University, prompting the New York City school to share a list of policy changes and administrative actions it was making — something some saw as acquiescing to the government’s demands.

Meanwhile, Harvard University has sued the Trump administration over proposed funding cuts and what the school sees as threats to academic freedom, including Trump’s demand to eliminate DEI programs.

At the University of Minnesota, its law school paused a search for an assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) amid Trump’s ban of DEI programs in the federal government. The U’s Twin Cities campus is also under a new investigation by the federal Department of Education for antisemitism.

And in March, the U’s Board of Regents passed a controversial resolution that some faculty said curtails their academic freedom and freedom of speech. It came after some state lawmakers requested that U groups remove public statements — many of which supported Palestine — in 2023.

Across the U system, 11 international students or scholars have also had their immigration status terminated in the last couple months, including one graduate student detained by ICE for a past drunken driving conviction — one of at least 50 international students at Minnesota colleges and universities to have their visa revoked or immigration status terminated.

Across Minnesota, more higher education leaders are fighting back this week, signing onto a national letter this week opposing “unprecedented government overreach” and calling for “constructive engagement” with institutions. As of Thursday, 14 Minnesota school leaders had signed the letter.