The presidents of Bellarmine University, Berea and Centre colleges, and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary have put their signatures to the American Association of Colleges and Universities letter titled "A Call for Constructive Engagement."
The letter describes the Trump administration's actions as "unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education." There are currently 534 signatures total from post-secondary institutions and other academic groups across the country.
But absent from the list are leaders of public universities and colleges in the commonwealth, including the University of Kentucky. Last week, UK saw some pushback against its cancellation of special identity-based graduation ceremonies. Peaceful Bluegrass Resistance founder Craig Blair said he understands the competing interests the school has to contend with, but he believes difficult decisions are coming.
"We certainly recognize that's the the quandary that that UK is in, and we're not minimizing that at all. You know, we aren't Harvard. We don't have the endowment that Harvard has," Blair said, referring to Harvard University's high-profile stance against the administration. "But at some point, yes, we're gonna have to stand up. You have to decide what is your line. And we feel like, through the past several weeks we have seen UK just not just not hold the line, but retreat from the line before it's even drawn."
UK Spokesman Jay Blanton said the university has to strike a balance between what it considers legal obligations and its overall mission.
"We've got to do what we can and do what we must to comply with the law. At the same time, we've got to do what we can and do what we must to support our community," he said. "We're working to do both things."
The Trump administration has threatened to yank federal funds from universities and colleges that don't align with its directives, notably those surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI programs and initiatives. That's in addition to efforts to dramatically slash National Institutes of Health research funding, which UK says would cost the school at least $40 million a year if the administration's efforts survive ongoing core challenges.
"Every part of our mission is facing stress and scrutiny. And every part of our mission will need to respond in ways tailored to their specific policy concerns, but in alignment with our north star: how — in everything that we do — we work to advance Kentucky," UK President Eli Capilouto later said at a Board of Trustees meeting.