Our Team

Stand Together for Higher Ed is a national faculty-led movement to defend US higher education, academic freedom, and democracy. We are faculty and staff committed to building cross-campus alliances, forming Mutual Academic Defense Compacts (MADCs) and task forces where possible, helping the public understand the vital role higher ed plays in their communities, and organizing in solidarity to resist political interference and protect the core values of higher education.

This movement began in March 2025 with a groundswell of faculty organizing across the country to stand up a defense of higher education when Columbia was under attack. It has grown into a national network. The Stand Together for Higher Ed National Team includes faculty and staff who have been leading the effort to build defenses for US higher education, a central institution of US democracy.

Kathy Roberts Forde, Co-Chair Stand Together for Higher Ed, Professor of Journalism, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Kathy Roberts Forde, Co-Chair Stand Together for Higher Ed, Professor of Journalism, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Jennifer Lundquist, Co-Chair Stand Together for Higher Ed, Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Jennifer Lundquist, Co-Chair Stand Together for Higher Ed, Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Paul Boxer, Co-Author First MADC Resolution at Rutgers, Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University Newark

Paul Boxer, Co-Author First MADC Resolution at Rutgers, Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University Newark

Sarah Chinn, Contributor to Hunter College MADC Resolution, Professor of English, Hunter College

Sarah Chinn, Contributor to Hunter College MADC Resolution, Professor of English, Hunter College

Alison Gash, Co-Founder We Are Higher Ed, Professor of Political Science, University of Oregon

Alison Gash, Co-Founder We Are Higher Ed, Professor of Political Science, University of Oregon

Janice Irvine, Documentarian and Archivist Stand Together for Higher Ed, Professor Emerita of Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Janice Irvine, Documentarian and Archivist Stand Together for Higher Ed, Professor Emerita of Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Daniel Laurison, Co-Founder We Are Higher Ed, Associate Professor of Sociology, Swarthmore College

Daniel Laurison, Co-Founder We Are Higher Ed, Associate Professor of Sociology, Swarthmore College

Mark Pachucki, Co-Author UMass Amherst MADC Resolution, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Mark Pachucki, Co-Author UMass Amherst MADC Resolution, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

David Salas-de la Cruz, Co-Author First MADC Resolution at Rutgers, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Rutgers University Camden

David Salas-de la Cruz, Co-Author First MADC Resolution at Rutgers, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Rutgers University Camden

Morgan Woroner, Director of Communications Stand Together for Higher Ed, Associate Director of Marketing & Strategic Communications, CSBS, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Morgan Woroner, Director of Communications Stand Together for Higher Ed, Associate Director of Marketing & Strategic Communications, CSBS, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Michael Yarbrough, Member We Are Higher Ed and Leader in MADC Movement, Associate Professor of Law & Society and Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and CUNY Graduate Center

Michael Yarbrough, Member We Are Higher Ed and Leader in MADC Movement, Associate Professor of Law & Society and Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and CUNY Graduate Center