Syverud releases statement expressing concern over federal education policy changes
Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud expressed concern about President Trump’s federal education policies in a campus-wide statement Tuesday. Syverud said SU “risks its place” in higher education if the university is targeted. Moriah Ratner | Daily Orange File Photo
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Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud expressed concern about President Donald Trump’s administration’s changes to federal education policy in a Tuesday afternoon campus-wide email. Syverud wrote that SU “risks its place” as a higher education institution if drastic federal funding cuts are made to the university.
In the email, Syverud wrote that he would continue to engage with elected officials and advocate on behalf of the SU community. He remains committed to protecting the university’s “most vulnerable,” he wrote.
“In recent weeks, I’ve heard from many people, on campus and beyond, concerned about federal policy changes that have significantly impacted colleges and universities, and ones that may be forthcoming,” Syverud wrote in the statement. “The reality is that higher education institutions, including those here in Central New York, face tremendous uncertainty.”
Tuesday’s email is the first campus-wide statement signed by only Syverud since Trump retook office. During Trump’s first term, Syverud condemned the first Trump administration, denouncing his proposed “Muslim ban” in 2017 and calling out Trump directly for his role in the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In May 2024, SU announced it would not provide statements or pronouncements on current controversies with the exception of “the most extraordinary of circumstances” in its Statement on Free Expression and Inquiry.
Syverud’s Tuesday statement comes after the Department of Health and Human Services cut an additional $60 million in federal grants to Harvard University on Tuesday, the latest of actions taken by the Trump Administration cited to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
The administration has targeted several elite colleges and universities with its federal funding cuts and other measures, for their diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies and alleged antisemitism.
Since Trump’s inauguration, his administration has specifically targeted seven universities, six of which are Ivy League. Harvard University, the most recently and thoroughly targeted, has lost nearly $2.7 billion in funding, the Washington Post reported.
While SU has not yet been directly targeted by the administration, other introduced policies, such as the elimination of federal subsidized student loans, changes to Pell Grants and cuts to federal research funding, could impact its students.
As of Tuesday, Syverud has not joined more than 650 university presidents or academic officials in signing an open letter condemning the administration’s “unprecedented government outreach” at colleges and universities.
Syvreud stressed the importance of protecting universities in the statement, emphasizing the role of local higher education institutions during the city of Syracuse’s 20th-century decline. SU, Le Moyne College, SUNY ESF, Upstate Medical University and Onondaga Community College became essential to upholding the region’s economy, he wrote.
“The success of these institutions is our community’s success,” the statement reads.
