Champions of Higher Education Statement of Purpose

Former college and university presidents and system heads who wish to add their names to this statement should contact Jacqueline Allain at [email protected].

Mission

The Champions of Higher Education, coordinated by PEN America, affirmatively promote a positive vision of American higher education as an essential guarantor of free expression in a democracy, and defend the autonomy of educational decisions made by colleges and universities against political and legislative incursions.

Vision

We will reconfirm public faith in America’s institutions of higher learning and rally public support against censorious legislation aimed at colleges and universities.

Statement of Purpose

In December 2022, PEN America, in collaboration with Campus Compact, began regular convenings of an expanding network of former university and college presidents and system heads. These convenings have spawned a new PEN America initiative. As participants in this initiative, we seek to advocate individually and collectively against efforts by public officials to censor and chill campus free expression and the right of students to learn, and against attempts to delegitimize and defund public colleges and universities. Having dedicated our careers to the success of higher learning, we volunteer to leverage our expertise, reputations, and connections in defense of postsecondary institutions. We are the Champions of Higher Education.

As PEN America has carefully documented, colleges and universities across the country have since 2021 been the target of well-funded and well-organized state government efforts to restrict classroom teaching about topics and analyses that address many of the nation’s enduring challenges: race, sex, gender identity, and American history. A backlash against the racial reckoning of the George Floyd protests has accelerated what was already a stark erosion of public support for higher education institutions. In seven states, laws constricting what can be taught have taken effect, resulting in both direct censorship and a chilling effect on faculty, staff, and students. Over 85 additional bills in 30 states have either been proposed or are currently pending. These legislative initiatives mirror a broader attack on what can be taught and read in K-12 schools and libraries.

National higher education organizations have spoken against these initiatives, as have some higher education leaders and stakeholders. Too often, however, university and college leaders face an impossible choice: openly criticizing educational censorship laws could make it more difficult for them to secure or maintain needed funding for their campuses, inviting negative consequences for their students, faculty, and staff. Accordingly, they are often unable to mount a consistent public response to the deluge of educational gag orders and other legislative intrusions into America’s classrooms and campuses.

The Champions of Higher Education are uniquely suited for this vital role. As leaders who have grappled previously with the political complexities surrounding university governance, curricula, and programming, we have thorough experience with the political complexities faced by our colleagues who currently lead higher education institutions. Over our careers, we have built relationships with funders, legislators, strategic partners, and in the communities we have served, affording us a strong voice to promote the higher education sector, as well as broad reach to assemble a coalition in its defense.

The Champions of Higher Education educate the public about these threats to higher education, amplifying the free expression framework developed by PEN America via op-eds and speaking engagements, both nationally and in the local and campus communities where we have the most influence. We draw on our relationships with legislators and business, legal, military, medical, and cultural leaders, activating powerful new advocates and coalitions for colleges and universities. And we recruit our fellow former presidents and system heads to the cause, swelling our ranks and our reach.

As an initiative, we maintain a disciplined focus on advancing our mission, while working proudly in collaboration with established higher education organizations whose own missions involve sustaining and transforming colleges and universities. Our work, and PEN America’s, exists to make the work of these other associations and initiatives possible by protecting the higher education sector as a whole from undue political influence and government overreach. Above all, we remain steadfast in our commitment that it is in the national interest, across party lines, to maintain the educational independence, academic freedom, and freedom of expression and thought that is the lifeblood of American higher education and of American democracy. Higher education must be a place where all viewpoints, right and left alike, get a fair hearing on campus. It is the obligation of universities to ensure that diverse perspectives and ideologies are represented within student bodies, faculties, and administrations. Campuses must safeguard the opportunity for robust debate even on sensitive and controversial topics. The unfettered pursuit of truth and understanding in colleges and universities is an essential bedrock of knowledge, discovery, and innovation.

It is the vital connective tissue of campus free expression that enables higher education to drive lucrative economic growth, vibrant cultural creations, life-saving scientific advances, and the informed and empathetic populace necessary for an effective democratic society. And it is also American colleges and universities’ reputation as bastions of intellectual freedom that makes the American system of higher education a global leader and the envy of the world – a stature threatened today by censorious legislation within our own country.

Legislation that politicizes classrooms and curricula, exacerbates campus divisions, and silences discussion of core issues in America’s history and future is a threat to the mission and independence of the higher education sector as a whole. As Champions of Higher Education, we pledge to use our voices and our resources to meet this threat and to reclaim public trust in America’s colleges and universities.

Signatories

Note: the signatories below have added their names to this statement in a personal capacity. Their support does not reflect the views of their former or current institutions, affiliations, or employers.

William D. Adams, Bucknell University, Colby College
F. King Alexander, Louisiana State University System; Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge; California State University Long Beach; Murray State University
Teresa L. Amott, Knox College
Loren J. Anderson, Pacific Lutheran University
Stan Arterberry, West Valley/Mission Community College District; Solano Community College District
Edward L. Ayers, University of Richmond
Steven C. Bahls, Augustana College
Esther L. Barazzone, Chatham University
Gretchen N. Bataille, University of North Texas; University of North Carolina School of the Arts (interim)
Priscilla J. Bell, North Idaho College; Highline College; Fulton-Montgomery Community College
Kim Benston, Haverford College
Robert M. Berdahl, University of California, Berkeley; University of Texas at Austin
Donald Betz, University of Central Oklahoma, Northeastern State University, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Laura C. Bingham, Peace College (NC)
Robert Birnbaum, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
George Blumenthal, University of California, Santa Cruz
George R. Boggs, Palomar College
Donald A. Borden, Camden County College
Charlotte G. Borst, The College of Idaho
José Antonio Bowen, Goucher College
Robert G. Bottoms, DePauw University
Wilson G. Bradshaw, Florida Gulf Coast University; Metropolitan State University (MN)
David W. Breneman, Kalamazoo College
Sean T. Buffington, University of the Arts
Joseph G. Burke, Keuka College
Mark Burstein, Lawrence University
Robert L. Caret, University System of Maryland; University of Massachusetts; Towson University, San Jose State University
Robert L. Carothers, Southwest Minnesota State University; Minnesota State University System; University of Rhode Island
Constance M. Carroll, San Diego Community College District
Roger Casey, McDaniel College
John C. Cavanaugh, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education; University of West Florida
F. Javier Cevallos, Kutztown University (PA); Framingham State University (MA)
Ellen Chaffee, Valley City State University; Mayville State University
Donald P. Christian, State University of New York at New Paltz
Anthony G. Collins, Clarkson University
Darrel D. Colson, Wartburg College
Katherine S. Conway-Turner, Buffalo State University
Richard J. Cook, Allegheny College
Thomas B. Courtice, Westbrook College; West Virginia Wesleyan College; Ohio Wesleyan University
Casey Crabill, Onondaga Community College; Raritan Valley Community College; College of the Redwoods
Ronald A. Crutcher, University of Richmond; Wheaton College
Constantine Curris, Murray State University; University of Northern Iowa; Clemson University
Christopher C. Dahl, State University of New York at Geneseo
Brady Deaton, University of Missouri, Columbia
Sean Decatur, Kenyon College
Sue DeWine, Hanover College
Nicholas B. Dirks, University of California, Berkeley
Margaret Drugovich, Hartwick College
Judith S. Eaton, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; Community College of Philadelphia; Community College of Southern Nevada
Thomas Ehrlich, Indiana University
Janet Dudley Eshbach, Salisbury University; Fairmont State University
Scott Evenbeck, Stella and Charles Guttman Community College
Frances Daly Fergusson, Vassar College
Mary Fifield, Bunker Hill Community College; Harrisburg Area Community College
Charles L. Flynn, Jr., College of Mount Saint Vincent
Thomas Flynn, Millikin University; Alvernia University (PA)
William L. Fox, St. Lawrence University; Culver-Stockton College
Bernadine Chuck Fong, Foothill College
A. Lee Fritschler, Dickinson College
Lawrence A. Galizio, Clatsop Community College
Claire Gaudiani, Connecticut College
Jan Lamp Gehler, Scottsdale Community College (AZ)
Patricia A. Gentile, North Shore Community College (MA)
Thomas F. George, University of Missouri – St. Louis; University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
R. Barbara Gitenstein, The College of New Jersey
Barry Glassner, Lewis & Clark College
Gena Glickman, Manchester Community College (CT)
Philip A. Glotzbach, Skidmore College
Stephen Greenwald, Metropolitan College of New York
Karen Gross, Southern Vermont College
Richard Guarasci, Wagner College
Phoebe A. Haddon, Rutgers University-Camden
Troy Hammond, North Central College (IL)
Dennis Hanno, Wheaton College
Elaine Tuttle Hansen, Bates College
Dianne F. Harrison, California State University, Northridge; California State University, Monterey Bay
Walter Harrison, University of Hartford
Marjorie Hass, Austin College; Rhodes College
Mark A. Heckler, Valparaiso University
Thomas Hellie, Linfield University
Susan Henking, Shimer College; Salem College (interim)
Carlos Hernandez, New Jersey City University
Richard Hersh, Hobart & William Smith Colleges; Trinity College (CT)
Catharine Bond Hill, Vassar College
Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, CM, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities; former university president
Muriel A. Howard, SUNY Buffalo State University
Freeman Hrabowski, University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Margaret A. Huber, Presentation College (SD); La Roche University (PA); Notre Dame de Namur University (CA)
Mark W. Huddleston, University of New Hampshire; Ohio Wesleyan University
Larry Isaak, North Dakota University System
Cynthia Jackson-Hammond, Central State University (OH)
Richard Jarvis, Nevada System of Higher Education
James Johnsen, University of Alaska System
William Johnston, Wesley College, Iowa Wesleyan University
Ellen Junn, California State University, Stanislaus
Martha Kanter, Foothill-De Anza Community College District
W. Hubert Keen, Farmingdale State College—SUNY; Nassau Community College—SUNY
Thomas Kepple Jr., Juniata College
Neil Kerwin, American University
Harvey Kesselman, Stockton University
Walter M. Kimbrough, Philander Smith College; Dillard University
Raynard S. Kington, Grinnell College
Richard Kneedler, Franklin & Marshall College
Dale T. Knobel, Denison University
Kathy A. Krendl, Otterbein University
Ralph W. Kuncl, University of Redlands
Donald J. Laackman, Harold Washington College; Champlain College
Leo M. Lambert, Elon University
Steven D. Lavine, California Institute of the Arts
Arthur Levine, Teachers College, Columbia University
David Levinson, Norwalk Community College
Theodore E. Long, Elizabethtown College (PA)
Terrence MacTaggart, University of Maine System; Minnesota State University System; University of Wisconsin-Superior
Elaine Maimon, Governors State University
Mary B. Marcy, Dominican University of California
George E. Martin, St. Edward’s University
Michael V. Martin, Florida Gulf Coast University; Colorado State University System; Louisiana State University; New Mexico State University
David Maxwell, Whitman College; Drake University
David McClain, University of Hawaii
Richard L. McCormick, University of Washington; Rutgers University
David McInally, Coe College
Lily D. McNair, Tuskegee University
Pat McPherson, Bryn Mawr College
Michael A. McRobbie, Indiana University
Donald J. Mash, Wayne State College (NE); University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Gail O. Mellow, LaGuardia Community College
Zach Messitte, Ripon College
Charles R. Middleton, Roosevelt University
Michael A. Middleton, University of Missouri (interim)
Robert A. Miller, Nazareth College
Brian C. Mitchell, Bucknell University; Washington & Jefferson College
James Moeser, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carol Ann Mooney, Saint Mary’s College (IN)
Richard L. Morrill, Salem College (NC); Centre College (KY); University of Richmond
Glenn Mroz, Michigan Technological University
Barry Munitz, California State University System; University of Houston
Brian Murphy, De Anza College
Jerry Murphy, DeVry University-Atlanta
Maureen Murphy, College of Southern Maryland; Brookdale Community College
Kathleen M. Murray, Whitman College
Gloria Nemerowicz, Pine Manor College (MA)
Deane E. Neubauer, University of Hawaii Manoa (interim)
Michael T. Nietzel, Missouri State University
Felice Nudelman, Antioch University
Eduardo M. Ochoa, California State University, Monterey Bay
Frederik Ohles, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Patricia Okker, New College of Florida
Eduardo Padrón, Miami Dade College
Mary Papazian, San Jose State University; Southern Connecticut State University
Jo Ellen Parker, Sweet Briar College
Patti McGill Peterson, Wells College; St. Lawrence University
Susan Resneck Pierce, University of Puget Sound
Steven G. Poskanzer, Carleton College
George A. Pruitt, Thomas Edison State University
Judith A. Ramaley, Portland State University; University of Vermont; Winona State University
Christopher M. Reber, Hudson County Community College; Community College of Beaver County
Kevin P. Reilly, University System of Wisconsin
John Reynders, Morningside University
Brian Rosenberg, Macalester College
Neil Rudenstine, Harvard University
George Rupp, Rice University; Columbia University
Lisa A. Rossbacher, Humboldt State University (CA); Southern Polytechnic State University (GA)
Mordechai Rozanski, Rider University
Kenneth P. Ruscio, Washington and Lee University
Herman J. Saatkamp, Jr., Stockton University
Morton Schapiro, Williams College; Northwestern University
Alvin J. Schexnider, Winston-Salem State University
Mark Schulman, Goddard College; Antioch University Southern California; Saybrook University; Presidio Graduate School
John F. Schwaller, State University of New York-Potsdam
Jean Scott, Marietta College
Robert A. Scott, Adelphi University; Ramapo College of New Jersey
Beheruz N. Sethna, University of West Georgia
John Sexton, New York University
Judith Shapiro, Barnard College
Mariko Silver, Bennington College
Jay Simmons, Iowa Wesleyan College; Simpson College
Robert Allen Skotheim, Whitman College; Occidental College
Hon. Peter Smith, Community College of Vermont; California State University, Monterey Bay
Arnold Speert, William Paterson University
Sheila M. Stearns, Montana University System
Carolyn J. Stefanco, The College of Saint Rose
Donald Straney, University of Hawaii at Hilo
Carl J. Strikwerda, Elizabethtown College
Mary Stuart, College of Mount Saint Vincent
Daniel Sullivan, St. Lawrence University; Allegheny College
E. Thomas Sullivan, The University of Vermont
Timothy J. Sullivan, College of William and Mary
Gregory Thomas, City Colleges of Chicago – Kennedy-King
Christopher M. Thomforde, Bethany College (KS); St. Olaf College (MN); Moravian College (PA)
Vinton Thompson, Metropolitan College of New York
Linda M. Thor, Foothill-DeAnza Community College District,;Rio Salado College
Holden Thorp, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Julianne Still Thrift, Salem College
Shirley M. Tilghman, Princeton University
Eugene M. Tobin, Hamilton College
Jeremy Travis, John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY)
William Troutt, Rhodes College
Kathleen Waldron, William Paterson University; Baruch College – CUNY
David Ward, University of Wisconsin-Madison
David L. Warren, Ohio Wesleyan University
Robert Weisbuch, Drew University
Daniel H. Weiss, Haverford College; Lafayette College
Dale Whittaker, University of Central Florida
Charles A. Wight, Weber State University; Salisbury University
Jamie C. Williamson, Butler University (Interim) and Winthrop University
Jack M. Wilson, University of Massachusetts System
John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., Morehouse College
Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran, Kalamazoo College
Terri L. Winfree, Prairie State College (IL)
Leslie E. Wong, San Francisco State University; Northern Michigan University
A. Zachary Yamba, Essex County College
Nancy L. Zimpher, State University of New York