Big Ten Universities Unite in Defense Pact to Preserve Campus Autonomy

CHICAGO, IL., April 24, 2025, public institutions within the Big Ten Conference announced a unified pact to coordinate legal and policy responses to federal directives perceived as encroachments on academic freedom. Backed by eight of the fourteen universities—including Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, and the University of Wisconsin—the agreement establishes a joint framework for sharing counsel, pooling legal fees, and aligning advocacy efforts. Participating schools will offer mutual assistance if any member faces funding cuts, regulatory action, or curriculum mandates tied to recent Trump administration edicts on diversity programs, campus speech, or research governance. The initiative also creates a steering committee charged with drafting best-practice guidelines, coordinating federal lobbying, and maintaining an open channel for rapid response.

The pact emerges after three months of behind-the-scenes collaboration between presidents and faculty senates, who drafted the language in response to mounting criticism from the White House over diversity, equity, and curriculum autonomy. Campus leaders describe the compact as an unprecedented gesture of solidarity aimed at safeguarding institutional independence and the free exchange of ideas. Final sign-off is scheduled at a May summit in Indianapolis, where remaining Big Ten campuses are expected to endorse the measure. Observers hail this as the most extensive alliance among major research universities confronting executive pressure in recent memory.

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*https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/04/24/big-10-universities-alliance-trump-attacks/