Faculty at universities in Ohio are forming defense compacts in response to what they call attacks on education.The Trump administration started targeting higher education institutions soon after he took office, demanding they disband their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and curtail pro-Palestinian protests in the name of curbing antisemitism. The administration has also frozen or canceled research grants universities rely on.
Here in Ohio, Senate Bill 1 takes effect Friday. The bill’s proponents say it prevents discrimination at public colleges by outlawing DEI programs, but faculty argue it’s designed to intimidate and silence dissenting voices.
In March, faculty at Rutgers created the Big Ten Mutual Defense Compact: it’s a pledge to share strategy, legal counsel and financial resources to protect member schools. Nearly all Big 10 university senates, which represent student and faculty interests, have since signed on, including Ohio State’s.Jill Galvan is an associate professor of English at OSU and member of its faculty senate. She voted in favor of joining the compact.“You have the same challenges hitting institutions,” Galvan said. “They’re the exact same challenges.”
Now other schools are following the Big Ten’s lead.
"You don't wait for war"
Just before the start of summer break, Rodney Coates, a faculty senator and professor at Miami University, proposed his own defense compact for the twelve schools in the Mid-American Conference. The conference includes a number of Ohio schools: Kent State University, the University of Akron, Ohio University, the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. Though the federal Department of Education has yet to investigate any schools in the MAC, Coates says it’s only a matter of time.
“You don’t wait until you’re attacked to prepare for battle. I’m a veteran. Four years in the army, okay? And one thing I learned was, you know what, you don’t wait until war comes to your front door,” he said.
College senates around the country – and even some presidents – have signed letters and statements speaking out against political interference in higher education, but Coates says this fight requires more than words.
“I call that bumper sticker reactions,” Coates said. “We need more than a bumper sticker. We need a plan of action.”
Harvard University has leveraged its wealth to resist and sue the Trump administration over threats to its federal funding. But Harvard is the richest higher ed institution in the country with a multi-billion dollar endowment. Coates says schools in the MAC need strength in numbers if they want to push back against what some faculty see as government overreach.
So, some Miami University faculty are spending the summer trying to convince other schools to join in. So far no has.
Kent State’s senate leader says he applauds the effort and hopes his senate will join when they reconvene in the fall. Faculty leaders at Akron and Ohio University say they’re still not sure how feasible a defense compact would be.
Challenges to defense compacts
In the Big Ten, a handful of faculty senates have not signed on. Purdue’s University Senate failed to get the votes needed to endorse the defense compact. Faculty at the University of Iowa and some of the newest additions to conference UCLA and USC did not hold votes on the matter.
Even if school faculties vote to join a compact, getting support from university administrations – who hold the power to mobilize resources – is an even bigger challenge. Ohio State and Miami closed their DEI offices this year despite faculty opposition and are hiring conservative scholars to run newly-mandated intellectual diversity centers. Ohio lawmakers say the centers will promote free speech and civil discourse, while combating what they call liberal-bias in college curriculum.
Nathan French, Miami’s Faculty Senate Executive Committee chair, says university administrators have an obligation to protect their schools’ funding, but they also have a duty to stand up for faculty and students.
“Our presidents and boards have different sets of challenges that they may be aware of that we’re not but I hope [these statements] really open up a conservation,” French said.
A spokesperson for Ohio State claims the university can’t legally join a common defense fund. Miami University declined to comment.
Coates warns universities complying with the Trump administration’s orders aren’t necessarily in the clear. He says that capitulating will embolden further government demands.
“And it might take a couple hits upside your head for people to realize, ‘You know what? We might need to prepare,’” he said.
When classes resume this fall, Coates wants students and faculty to have a renewed sense of confidence in their institutions, knowing neighboring colleges are standing alongside them.