“If universities do not stand together now, they will
stand alone—and one by one, they will fall.”

It’s up to us—the faculty & staff—to lead the way.

Stand Together for Higher Ed

Why We Stand Together

Higher education is under attack. A coordinated political campaign is working to delegitimize universities, restrict what can be taught, punish open inquiry, and dismantle institutional autonomy. These efforts are already causing real harm—targeting international students, undermining financial aid, making it harder for many to access or afford a college education, and defunding life-enhancing research. They threaten the values that make higher education vital to democracy: free speech, academic freedom, inclusion, and the pursuit of knowledge. To protect those values, we must come together—across campuses, communities, and differences—in common cause.

We believe in the transformative power of education to open minds, expand opportunity, and equip people to participate fully in civic life. Colleges and universities have long been engines of discovery, community-building, and democratic renewal. That work is worth defending.

We believe that when we stand together, we can resist efforts to divide and silence us—and defend not just our institutions, but the ideals they were built to serve.

Build a campus-level team and join us!

Join Our Movement

Faculty take the front lines, so everyone in higher ed can stand together.

This site is a rallying point. It exists to turn shared alarm into shared action—to connect higher ed faculty and staff across campuses to build solidarity and organize resistance.

The stakes are high. Our presidents and chancellors need us, not behind but out in front, clearing the way and working collaboratively with them and across our colleges and universities.

Our goal: the creation of Stand Together organizing teams, led by faculty, on campuses all over the United States. We will create mutual defense strategies, share resources and information, plan collective action, and support each other. We will be an active network and a big-tent movement. We must #standtogether.

What does it mean to join? You can be as involved as you wish. You can build a Stand Together team on your campus, or be a member of one, or share ideas with your team and with us, or simply follow what we’re doing and support from the edges. We need as much support as we can get.

This moment requires courage, and faculty with tenure and citizenship need to carry the weight. Our response will shape not only what happens now, but what higher education in the United States becomes and how history remembers us.

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email

Institutional email preferred, but personal is accepted if necessary for safety or privacy.

Your campus role

Title (i.e., Professor of Chemistry or Director Student Affairs)

Name of university or college

State (two-letter abbreviation, e.g., MA, CA, TX)

Institution type

Affirmation checkbox

I affirm that I am a current or retired faculty or staff member at a US college or university

Yes

Please share why you are joining our movement.

Interest checkbox

I want to help organize a Stand Together Team on my campus

I want to join a national working group (legal, comms, organizing, etc.)

I'm part of an existing Stand Together Team on my campus

Agreement

By submitting this form, you agree to receive email updates from Stand Together for Higher Ed.

Take a First Step

Standing together for higher education begins with small steps — signing, sharing, learning, joining.
Every action strengthens our movement and protects our people, our mission, our values.

Pass a Faculty Resolution for a Mutual Academic Defense Compact on your Campus

Sign our Stand
Together Letter

Monitor the AAC&U Letter for your President/Chancellor’s Signature