The Practice of Hope in a Politicized Landscape

In recent months, a new landscape has emerged for higher education. The federal government has withdrawn billions of dollars in research funds and contracts over colleges’ and universities’ alleged failure to respond to antisemitism on campuses. The government has also imposed a 15 percent cap on indirect costs for grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health and US Department of Energy and has eliminated spending on research addressing topics such as race, transgender health, climate change, and COVID-19. An executive order has banned transgender athletes from women’s sports, and a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Education has directed colleges and universities to dismantle all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The federal administration has also revoked more than a thousand student visas; arrested and threatened to deport international students and faculty who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests; removed limitations on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on campuses; and paused study abroad and international scholarship funding. On top of all this, the administration has increased efforts to eliminate the Department of Education. 

Across the country, higher education has become a flash point in political discourse—our curricula have been scrutinized, our values have been questioned, and our autonomy has been circumscribed. Many campus leaders have found themselves at an impossible crossroads: preserving access to essential research funding that saves lives, drives innovation, and serves the public good may mean compromising on the principles of academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and shared governance that define higher education in a free society. Burgeoning levels of moral distress reflect the reality that successful leadership in the academy extends beyond fulfilling one’s fiduciary responsibilities and entails stewarding the mission, vision, and values of one’s institution and safeguarding the public purposes of higher education. Academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and shared governance are not mere luxuries; they are necessities that together form the ethical foundation that enables colleges and universities to serve society. It is demoralizing when the transformative work of our colleges and universities is reduced to talking points designed to be wielded as a wedge in public debates. 

While the challenges colleges and universities of all types are facing in the current moment are daunting in their nature and scope, these times can also be clarifying. They call us back to our purpose and offer an opportunity to tell a fuller story of how we are nurturing talent, cultivating thinkers, preparing citizens, and building communities that care, create, and serve. Whether in classroom discussions, during late-night conversations in the residence halls, through community-based learning projects, or on the athletic field, students are learning how to imagine better systems, engage across differences with empathy, and find agency even in uncertainty. These daily acts defy the narrow narrative dominating the headlines and serve as a reminder of higher education’s role in cultivating hope amid disruption.

American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) board member Jessica Riddell’s groundbreaking scholarship, featured in this issue, emphasizes the ways in which colleges and universities can build and sustain “hope circuits” by rewiring our thinking to move from fear and scarcity toward innovation, compassion, and possibility. For Riddell, hope is neither toxic positivity nor naïve optimism. Instead, it is a useful, practical way of looking at the world that acknowledges the profound impact of trauma on individuals and organizations and yet responds with empathy, awareness, and reimagining. It is about choosing to show up, to collaborate, and to honor complexity in an era of oversimplification. 

AAC&U was honored to play a role in fostering collaboration around the creation of the public statement “A Call for Constructive Engagement” in response to ongoing government intrusion into higher education. Beginning with the declaration “We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education,” the statement, issued in April, marked the first time that presidents and leaders of scholarly societies had collectively spoken out in large numbers about the unraveling of the longstanding partnership between government and institutions of higher education. Our message makes clear exactly what is at stake for higher education and for our democracy if we are unable to find a productive way forward. 

The statement emerged from convenings organized by AAC&U, in partnership with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, that included higher education leaders at US institutions of all types. The meetings provided a space for candid conversations around how we can best work together to achieve our shared objectives and around what presidents most need at this crucial moment. Rather than acting defensively, the expanding coalition aims to build networks of resilience within and beyond individual institutions. The work we are engaged in carries with it an understanding that hope is fragile when it rests on a single leader or institution. But when rooted in relationships, it becomes a safety net for surviving setbacks. By creating and reinforcing hope circuits, we can strengthen collaborative pathways, transform isolation into connection, and embrace a shared purpose. We can counter despair and catalyze momentum in defending the integrity of American higher education at a time when it is more important than ever. 

Illustration by Paul Spella