Higher education 150 leaders denounce Trump's overreach

More than 150 presidents of US colleges and universities have signed a statement denouncing the Trump administration's "unprecedented government overreach and political interference" in higher education - the strongest sign yet that educational institutions are forming a unified front against the government's extraordinary attack on their independence.

- Alice Speri

The statement, published yesterday by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, comes weeks into the administration's mounting campaign against higher education and hours after Harvard University became the first school to sue the government over threats to its funding. Harvard is one of several institutions hit in recent weeks with huge funding cuts and demands they relinquish significant institutional autonomy.

The signatories come from large state universities, small liberal arts colleges and Ivy League institutions, including the presidents of Harvard, Princeton and Brown.