On September 18, 2026 on behalf of the Policy Committee, Professor Carol Symes (UIUC Chapter President) sent the following letter to President Timothy L. Killeen, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, Chancellor Charles L. Isbell, Jr., Provost John Coleman, and Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs William Bernhard.
It responds to the the “National Call to Action to University Presidents and Governing Boards” issued by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
Courtesy copies were sent to the UIUC Senate Executive Committee, the Campus Faculty Association, the Graduate Employees Organization, and the Non-Tenure Faculty Coalition.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chapter of the American Association of University Professors endorses the recent AFT-AAUP response to the letter from the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, dated 3 August 2026. We call on you, as leaders of the University of Illinois, to categorically reject this “National Call to Action.”
McMahon’s letter does nothing to secure academic freedom and campus free speech, to ensure that students have the opportunity for a well-rounded education, or to address the public’s concerns about college affordability. Instead, it is one more attempt by the Trump administration to exert undue political influence over institutions of higher education.
If colleges and universities are to serve the public good, they should not be made answerable to the political program of a particular administration. The Department of Education may enforce the law and administer programs authorized by Congress; it may not dictate a litmus test for hiring, teaching, or researching. Nor should the federal government dictate which programs and courses of study ought to be prioritized, which perspectives count as relevant, or whether institutions publicly endorse the government’s preferred conception of their mission.
Public confidence in higher education will be restored through increased affordability and institutional independence, as well the values articulated in Chancellor Isbell’s strategic plan. Declining to respond to the Secretary—and thereby declining to legitimate the Trump administration’s higher education agenda—is the best option for the University of Illinois. If a response is deemed politically necessary, campus unions, academic senates, and this AAUP Chapter should be consulted on how to affirm our institutional values without complying with the Trump administration’s coercion.