University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin signed an open letter Tuesday condemning the Trump administration’s “unprecedented political interference” in public research funding, joining over 220 other higher education leaders.
The letter, published by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, follows Harvard’s lawsuit against the Trump administration, which froze billions in funding after the university refused to comply with a set of demands it described as wielding “unprecedented and improper control.”
UW-Madison has similarly been targeted by a federal investigation into campus antisemitism that could threaten its federal funding.
Academic leaders wrote that higher education institutions are “essential to American prosperity,” arguing that the administration's “undue intrusion” puts that prosperity at risk.
The Trump administration has also targeted other higher education institutions, including Cornell University and Northwestern University, both of which experienced funding cuts — a threat now being leveraged against other schools nationwide.
“The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society,” the open letter states. “On behalf of our current and future students, and all who work at and benefit from our institutions, we call for constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.”
Mnookin updates campus community on federal relations
Mnookin also released an end-of-semester update letter to faculty and staff Tuesday, saying higher education is a “big part of what makes this country great” and calling the research compact between the United States federal government and its universities “the envy of the globe.”
“The cuts that have been proposed at the federal level could have devastating impacts on research as well as education,” she wrote. “They will inevitably impact the next generation of scientists and inventors. They will also harm our national security and our ability to be competitive in developing critical new technologies on a global scale.”
Federal funding and research grants make up approximately 30% of the university’s current revenue, a percentage that has remained relatively consistent over the past five decades. UW-Madison academic experts argued in a panel last week the United States risks ceding its global leadership in scientific discovery and economic growth without sustained federal investment.
UW-Madison is currently appealing funding decisions and participating in lawsuits aimed at preventing grant terminations and delays, Mnookin said, and the Office of Legal Affairs has issued nine declarations in seven lawsuits nationwide brought by state attorneys general and higher education partners.
Mnookin also responded to the termination of over two dozen visas in her address, building upon her column in the Wisconsin State Journal late last week that called the situation “deeply troubling.”
“The federal actions go beyond financial risk to the heart of our mission,” Mnookin wrote in her update, “including calling into question our values and even who belongs on our campus.”
She said the university is working to support students experiencing visa terminations and can connect students to legal resources.
Annika Bereny is a Senior Staff Writer and the former Special Pages Editor for The Daily Cardinal. She is a History and Journalism major and has written in-depth campus news, specializing in protest policy, free speech and historical analysis. She has also written for state and city news. Follow her on Twitter at @annikabereny.
Ella Hanley is the college news editor for The Daily Cardinal and former associate news editor. She is a fourth-year journalism and criminal justice student and has written breaking, city, state and campus news. Follow her on Twitter at @ellamhanley.
