Let me share a list with you. In the past eight weeks, the White House and federal agencies at the behest of the Trump administration have: 

• Issued an executive order banning diversity initiatives in federal agencies 

• Released a letter calling on schools to immediately end all race-conscious policies and programming or risk losing federal funding

• Opened civil rights investigations into 52 universities for allegedly engaging in activities the department says impermissibly limits participation by race 

• Announced a major shift in how university research is funded

• Sent letters to 60 schools warning them they could lose their federal funding if they do not protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment on campus

• Announced significant job cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, a first step in Trump’s campaign promise to dismantle the department entirely

• Gone on to sign an executive order that calls on the Education Secretary to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department  

If this sounds like a lot, well, it is. Those are just a few of the pointed actions directed at U.S. colleges and universities since President Donald Trump took office. We are living in an unprecedented moment for higher education institutions. Our local network is covering how these sweeping changes matter to their regions, from how climate change research is threatened in Puerto Rico to diversity initiatives getting the boot in Queens. But many local newsrooms lack the staffing or resources to cover these kinds of stories. That’s concerning, because attacks on colleges and universities impact more than just the people who attend them. Or, as Jonathan Fansmith of the American Council of Education put it on a webinar on Tuesday:

“This is a moment where higher ed needs to make it clear that this is not just us protecting some sort of privilege we have. We are deeply intertwined into our communities,” he said. “We serve our communities in a million different ways."

This looks like free child care for student parents, and research into cures for Alzheimer’s. Even if you never went to college, or worked on a campus, what’s happening right now has the potential to change your life. 

"What matters goes well beyond campuses," Editor-in-Chief Sara Hebel wrote earlier this week. "When universities’ missions are threatened, that can affect everyone." 

This is why we launched Higher Ed Under Pressure, a new Open Campus initiative which provides editorial support to local newsrooms in the form of story coaching, data analysis, and policy explainers from our team of higher-ed journalists. 

Our goal is to help local journalists everywhere — beyond the 17 newsroom partners we work with in an ongoing way — be able to explain what’s at stake for their colleges and thus, their entire communities. We’re breaking down federal actions, suggesting questions reporters can ask their universities, and providing guidance on data and records requests. It’s all with the goal of helping reporter hold their universities accountable and keep their audiences abreast of how decisions made in Washington, D.C. impact their lives. If you’re curious, read one of our resources here. We’re also keeping a running list of major actions affecting higher ed by the Trump administration.

So far more than 30 newsrooms have signed up to participate. If you’re a local reporter or editor who wants support covering higher ed right now, you can sign up here.

What higher ed stories do you wish more newsrooms were covering during this Trump presidency? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Reach out at [email protected].

Support our work 💰️ 

We’re coaching 17 partner newsrooms around the country to meet this moment.

If in-depth, local coverage of higher-ed matters to you, donate to Open Campus today.

Elsewhere on Open Campus

In Florida: University of South Florida is among the universities under investigation for alleged impermissible race-based scholarships. It’s not clear which scholarships are alleged to violate antidiscrimination statutes, or which racial groups had been discriminated against, writes Ian Hodgson. His colleague, Divya Kumar, reported a USF administrator is no longer part of the university system after comments he made about diversity, equity and inclusion surfaced online.

In Texas: Texas Tech has promised it will not consider race in admission decisions. The decision comes after an applicant sued Texas Tech University Health Science Center and five other medical schools in the state as well as their presidents, medical school deans and admission officers in 2023. He claimed the schools rejected him in favor of lesser qualified students of color.

Keep in touch

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