Yale AAUP

@aaupyale.org

Yale faculty and instructional staff organizing for academic freedom, shared governance, and a university that serves truth, knowledge, and the public good. Visit aaupyale.org to learn more and join the movement!✊🎓

@aaupyale.org

AAUP Yale helps carry this tradition forward. Join us.

We welcome faculty of all ranks and appointments, including lecturers, instructors, researchers, graduate researchers, postdocs, librarians, archivists, curators, and technicians supporting teaching and research.

Get involved: aaupyale.org

AAUP Yale graphic with the headline “AAUP Yale Helps Carry the Tradition Forward.” Text: “The Lipstick’s return connects generations of organizing over who holds power—and who gets a voice—at Yale. AAUP Yale continues that tradition through rallies, teach-ins, and organizing alongside students, staff, and alumni. We challenge federal attacks on higher education, demand enforceable protections for academic freedom, and fight for meaningful participation in university governance. A university accountable to its community takes collective action.”AAUP Yale graphic with the headline “Help Shape Yale’s Next Chapter. Join AAUP Yale,” with “Join” circled in blue. A highlighted box reads: “Join us + get involved at: AAUPYALE.ORG.” Text: “Our definition of faculty is broad. We welcome standing and contingent faculty, lecturers and instructors, researchers, graduate researchers, postdocs, librarians, archivists, curators, and technicians whose work supports teaching and research.” Bold text reads: “There’s a place for you in this fight.” Closing text: “Become a member. Join a working group. Help organize for academic freedom, shared governance, and fair working conditions.”
@aaupyale.org

Allegations are not proof. AAUP Yale’s retained law firm called the DOJ’s findings “cherry-picked” and “statistically weak.” Meanwhile, nearly half of respondents to an AAUP Yale faculty survey had stepped back from public engagement; about a third had avoided controversial lecture topics. 4/5

AAUP Yale graphic with the headline “Allegations Are Not Proof,” with “Not” circled in blue. Text: “The Justice Department accused Yale’s medical school of racial discrimination in admissions. Yale later confirmed additional investigations and negotiations with the government. Sher Tremonte, the law firm retained by AAUP Yale, described the department’s findings as ‘cherry-picked’ and ‘statistically weak.’ At the rally, Professor Muneer Ahmad emphasized that the government has not proven its allegations before a judge.”AAUP Yale graphic with the headline “The Chilling Effect Is Here.” Text: “An AAUP Yale survey of nearly 200 faculty members found that, since January 2025: Nearly half of respondents had stepped back from public engagement. About one-third had avoided controversial topics in their lectures. AAUP Yale has demanded written protections for academic freedom. Professor Amy Kapczynski told the crowd that Yale has yet to commit those protections to writing.”
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Yale celebrates its protest history while restricting protest today. The October 2 rally deliberately challenged campus rules. It followed years of unanswered demands for democratically elected trustees and divestment from weapons manufacturers. “What is Yale afraid of?” 3/5

AAUP Yale graphic with the headline “Yale celebrates the history. Yet its rules restrict the practice.” “Restrict” is circled in blue. Text: “The rally deliberately challenged Yale’s free-expression policies: organizers held an unregistered protest, installed artwork without approval, and led chants outside permitted hours. Two architects who helped build the original Lipstick called Yale’s ban censorious.” A bold closing quote reads: “What is Yale afraid of?”AAUP Yale graphic labeled “2023–??,” with the headline “Years of Demands. Little Response.” “Years” is circled in blue. Text: “In 2023, nearly 90% of students who voted in a Yale College Council referendum supported democratically elected trustees. Students also asked Yale’s investor-responsibility committee three times to divest from weapons manufacturers. Yale has acted on neither demand. These protests build on years of organizing for accountability.”
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In 1969, students used Claes Oldenburg’s Lipstick sculpture as a podium for anti-war rallies. On October 2, a cardboard recreation returned to Beinecke Plaza. Hundreds gathered with Democratize Yale to challenge university and government power. 2/5

AAUP Yale graphic labeled “1969,” with the headline “Art Meets Resistance.” A black-and-white photograph shows people on ladders working on the Lipstick sculpture, surrounded by a crowd. Photo credited to YaleNews. Text: “Yale graduate Claes Oldenburg installed Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks on Beinecke Plaza: a giant lipstick tube rising from tank treads. Students used it as a podium for anti-war rallies outside of Woodbridge Hall, where Yale’s president worked and trustees met. The sculpture challenged both the university and the federal government.”AAUP Yale graphic labeled “2026,” with the headline “A New Generation Takes the Plaza.” A color photograph shows a crowd gathered around a tall cardboard Lipstick sculpture outside a Yale building. Photo credited to Zachary Clifton for The Nation. Text: “On October 2, students brought a twelve-foot cardboard recreation of the Lipstick to Beinecke Plaza. Hundreds gathered with Democratize Yale, a coalition of students, staff, faculty, and alumni. Their demands: shared governance, free speech and assembly, academic freedom, and an end to Yale’s settlement negotiations with the Department of Justice.”
@gregggonsalves.bsky.socialReposted by @aaupyale.org

Yale student Zachary Clifton penned this for @thenation.com this week: Yale’s Protest Tradition Is Back--
For the first time in 50 years, Yale students gathered around an iconic sculpture to protest their university and their government. Boola-boola. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

thenation.comYale’s Protest Tradition Is BackFor the first time in 50 years, Yale students gathered around an iconic sculpture to protest their university and their government.
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Yale Daily News: “Students, politicians gather on Beinecke to protest Trump negotiations”

Students and politicians, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, rallied at Beinecke Plaza to urge Yale to reject a Trump settlement over its admissions practices.

bit.ly/YDN_DemocratizeYale

@aaupyale.org

New Haven Independent: “‘Lipstick’ Traces Latest Yalie Protest”

Hundreds of Yale students rallied around a cardboard Lipstick replica to oppose a Trump settlement over Yale’s admissions policies and protest restrictions on campus gatherings.

bit.ly/NHI_DemocratizeYale

@aaupyale.org

NBC Connecticut: “‘Lipstick’ Traces Latest Yalie Protest”

Faculty and students at Yale said they want university leaders to end settlement discussions with the Trump administration over allegations of discrimination in the admissions process.

bit.ly/NBCCT_DemocratizeYale

@aaupyale.org

WTNH News 8 (ABC): “Yale students urge university to not settle with Trump administration”

Protesters urged Yale to follow Harvard’s example and fight back against Trump. Cornell, Columbia and Brown have settled, agreeing to pay millions and change policies.

bit.ly/WTNH_DemocratizeYale

@aaupyale.org

On October 2, hundreds joined Democratize Yale’s march to Beinecke Plaza to demand a more democratic Yale and oppose a settlement with the Trump administration.

Swipe through the coverage—and join the movement: democratizeyale.org

More coverage will be added as it comes in.

@aaupyale.org

Tell President Maurie McInnis: Defend Yale’s public mission. Email [email protected]. Ask her to reaffirm public service and an ethical, diverse community, protect academic freedom, and give faculty, students, staff, and New Haven residents a meaningful voice in Yale’s future. 5/5

Cream AAUP Yale graphic with an illustration of a hand pressing “Send” on a phone displaying an envelope. Heading: “Tell McInnis: Defend Yale’s public mission.” Text: “Email Yale President Maurie McInnis: president@yale.edu.” Readers are urged to ask her to reaffirm Yale’s commitment to public service and an ethical, diverse community; protect academic freedom from political interference; and ensure faculty, students, staff, and New Haven residents have a meaningful voice in shaping Yale’s future. Closing text: “And read more at bit.ly/CHE_WhatAilsHigherEd.”
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Elite universities’ concerns cannot stand in for all of higher ed. Meaningful reform should include transparent decisions, shared governance, academic freedom, affordability, and public service. What role should faculty, students, staff, and New Haven have in shaping Yale’s future? 4/5

Cream AAUP Yale graphic with dark green text and outlined speech bubbles. Heading: “Questions for Yale. 01. What does the university owe the public?” Text: “Research and teaching are deeply connected to public life. Removing explicit language about improving the world and cultivating an ethical, diverse community raises questions about how Yale describes its responsibilities to society. What role should faculty, students, staff, and New Haven residents have in defining those responsibilities?”Cream AAUP Yale graphic with outlined speech bubbles. Heading: “Questions for Yale. 02. Whose problems do these reports address?” Text: “Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), emphasizes that declining public trust affects colleges across the sector. Affordability, academic freedom, and governance have broad relevance. Other recommendations, including eliminating legacy admissions, apply to a narrower group of institutions. Reforms designed for wealthy research universities cannot automatically stand in for solutions across higher education.”Cream AAUP Yale graphic with dark green text and outlined speech bubbles. Heading: “Questions for Yale. 03. What will actually change?” Text: “Rosenberg questions whether elite institutions feel much urgency to respond to declining public confidence when they continue to attract applicants and donations. He argues that economic pressures, demographic changes, and the spread of artificial intelligence are more powerful drivers of institutional change. Publishing recommendations is one step. Acting on them is another.”Cream AAUP Yale graphic with outlined speech bubbles. Heading: “Questions for Yale. 04. What would meaningful reform look like?” Text: “Rebuilding trust should involve:” followed by four bullet points: transparent decisions and admissions practices; substantive participation by faculty, students, and staff; protection for academic freedom; attention to affordability and public service. Closing question: “How will Yale show what changed, who helped shape it, and whom those changes serve?”
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Yale removed “improving the world today” and “ethical, interdependent, and diverse community” from its core mission statement, centering research and teaching. Brian Rosenberg called the change “a retreat.” How does narrowing Yale’s stated purpose help rebuild public trust? 3/5

Cream AAUP Yale graphic with a hand holding a magnifying glass. Heading: “What changed at Yale? A narrower core mission.” Language removed from the previous statement: “improving the world today” and “ethical, interdependent, and diverse community.” Current core mission: “Yale’s core mission is to create, disseminate, and preserve knowledge through research and teaching.” Closing text: “The revised statement centers knowledge, research, and teaching while removing explicit language about broader social and community commitments.”Cream AAUP Yale quote graphic with oversized quotation marks. Quote: “a retreat at a time when we’re not seeing a lot of profiles in courage.” Attributed to Brian Rosenberg, former president of Macalester College, quoted in The Chronicle on the proposed change to Yale’s mission. Below: “Rosenberg called changing the mission a mistake. Yale nevertheless adopted the narrower statement.”
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“I think it’s an act of self-protection.” — Brian Rosenberg The reports respond to declining trust and federal pressure. Their priorities differ: Yale emphasizes public trust; Cornell, student needs; Vanderbilt/WashU, what its authors call politicized humanities scholarship. 2/5

Cream AAUP Yale graphic featuring a black-and-white handshake. Heading: “Why these reports, why now?” Smaller heading: “Backroom negotiations. Public distrust. Political pressure. Institutional responses.” Text: “Universities are publishing self-studies amid declining public confidence and the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape higher education. Cornell saw more than $250 million in federal research funding interrupted in 2025. Yale faces an investigation into its admissions practices.” Bold closing text: “The reports address internal problems while their institutions face external pressure.”Cream AAUP Yale graphic with oversized quotation marks framing: “I think it’s an act of self-protection.” Attributed to Brian Rosenberg, former president of Macalester College, quoted in The Chronicle. Below: “Rosenberg sees these reports as more than exercises in reflection. They can also demonstrate that universities recognize problems and can make changes themselves—strengthening their argument for preserving institutional autonomy.”Dark green AAUP Yale graphic with cream text. Heading: “Different reports, different priorities.” Subheading: “What do the universities think needs fixing?” Yale: “Public trust, cost, admissions transparency, and campus discourse.” Cornell: “Similar concerns, alongside student skills, experiential learning, and tensions among teaching, research, and public service.” Vanderbilt/WashU: “What the report’s authors describe as politicized scholarship in the humanities, with an emphasis on independent inquiry.” Closing text: “Their diagnoses shape the changes they recommend.”
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Yale Daily News: “School of Medicine, Law School students share concerns on Trump talks”

Medical and law students oppose a Yale settlement with the Trump administration. Medical students demand transparency and a voice in negotiations.

bit.ly/YDN_Concerns

AAUP Yale graphic on an off-white background. Large, bold black text reads: “Yale’s reputation was not built by accommodation to political power and it will not be preserved that way.” Both instances of “not” are underlined in yellow, with large yellow quotation marks above. The attribution reads: “— Yale Law Democrats’ open letter, quoted in the Yale Daily News.” The AAUP Yale logo appears at the top right. At the bottom: “Read: bit.ly/YDN_Concerns.”
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Yale Daily News: “Trustees discuss Trump negotiations, student visas in campus meetings”

Trustees offered “no new details” on Yale’s DOJ talks while faculty discussed academic freedom protections. Yale needs transparency and shared governance.

bit.ly/YDN_TrusteesDiscuss

AAUP Yale graphic on a pale pink background. A blue headline reads, “Trustees face questions about Yale-DOJ negotiations.” Below it, a pink watercolor shape contains a quote from the Yale Daily News: “The meeting comes as trustees have faced scrutiny, from a faculty committee and students across campus, over their private agenda.” Large blue quotation marks frame the quote. The AAUP Yale logo appears at the top right, and the bottom reads, “Read more at: bit.ly/YDN_TrusteesDiscuss.”
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