AAUP Yale

Call to Action: Tell Yale Leadership not to cut a deal with the Trump Administration

A June 26 New York Times article reports that Yale leadership has entered into settlement discussions with the Trump administration. According to three confidential sources briefed on the matter, the Times reported that “Yale recently offered a proposal to the government.”

We encourage faculty, students, staff, alumni, and friends of Yale who share these concerns to contact President Maurie McInnis directly at president@yale.edu as well as your academic dean.

WHAT IS THE DOJ LETTER OF FINDINGS?

As our Yale AAUP chapter explained during a Zoom meeting on June 22, the Department of Justice sent a “Letter of Findings” in late May alleging that the admissions practices of the Yale School of Medicine violate federal anti-discrimination law. Yale’s proposed settlement terms were not disclosed, but according to the Times, the negotiations purportedly reach far beyond the medical school and could have significance for universities across the country. All faculty should be alarmed that Yale is seeking to quickly settle rather than standing up for the independence of higher education more broadly, which is under unprecedented threat today. Yale carefully reviewed and updated its admissions processes after the 2023 Supreme Court case, SFAA v. Harvard.  It adopted an approach it believed complied with the law, and it should stand by that approach.  The DOJ letter is not a binding judgment that Yale violated the law, and in the normal course, the DOJ would bring legal proceedings if it believed it could obtain a favorable legal determination.

Six years ago, in fact, the DOJ issued a similar letter to Yale, targeting its undergraduate admissions processes. Yale’s then President, Peter Salovey, immediately issued a statement dismissing the DOJs claims as “baseless.” He wrote that Yale would not “change its admissions processes in response to today’s letter because the DOJ is seeking to impose a standard that is inconsistent with existing law.” Yale did not negotiate, and it defended itself in court when the DOJ sued. The subsequent administration withdrew the lawsuit.

Today’s Trump Administration has shown itself willing to take extraordinary and unlawful measures to pressure universities to bow to its commands. That makes it all the more important that President McInnis stand up for Yale’s autonomy, as President Salovey did, rather than striking a hasty, private deal that compromises Yale’s independence.  

IMPACTS OF A SETTLEMENT COULD BE WIDE RANGING

In settlement negotiations, the Trump Administration can ask for concessions that bear no relationship to medical school admissions. Indeed, reporting from the New York Times indicates that admissions for at least two other schools – Yale College and Yale Law School – are already the subject of negotiations. The Trump Administration could seek concessions from all parts of the university, compromising  admissions, academic freedom, particular departments or programs, faculty governance, or other aspects of university life that bear little or no relation to the original allegations. Agreements reached behind closed doors today could reshape the university’s policies, governance, and academic mission for years to come. (For example, a proposed demand letter from the DOJ to UCLA in 2025 included wide-ranging limits on the university’s autonomy; UCLA faculty mobilized to prevent its administration from agreeing to these demands and a court eventually blocked the settlement).

The implications of Yale’s actions extend well beyond Yale. At least 15 medical schools have reportedly received similar Department of Justice letters. If Yale chooses to settle before any court has ruled on the government’s claims, it will validate the Trump Administration’s tactics, establishing a template for federal pressure on colleges and universities across the country.  

TRANSPARENCY MATTERS

Faculty also deserve transparency. To date, the university administration has not communicated with the Yale community about the Department of Justice’s allegations, the status of the case, or the reported negotiations, leaving faculty, students, staff, and alumni to piece together developments through news reports while trying to determine whether the university’s institutional independence is being compromisedThe university community has received no explanation of what, if anything, that proposal contains, what principles are guiding the administration’s approach, or what commitments may be under discussion. Decisions with potentially sweeping consequences for Yale’s future should not unfold without meaningful communication with the faculty whose teaching, research, and governance responsibilities may ultimately be affected.

The AAUP Yale calls on the administration to:

We encourage faculty, students, staff, alumni, and friends of Yale who share these concerns to contact President Maurie McInnis directly at president@yale.edu as well as your academic dean.

A brief message urging Yale’s leadership not to negotiate with the Trump administration over unproven allegations and instead to require the Department of Justice to make its case in court would send a powerful signal that the Yale community expects the university to defend its autonomy, its system of shared governance, and its academic mission.

(You can read an FAQ on Understanding the Letter of Findings on the Yale AAUP website here.)

Real Academic Freedom for All Faculty

Academic freedom at Yale is not as secure as many assume. Although the Faculty Handbook references the Woodward Report, Yale recently argued in federal court that these references are not legally binding—and the court agreed. This interpretation leaves Yale faculty without clear, enforceable protections for academic freedom at a moment when such protections are under increasing national strain. In response, more than 500 Yale faculty signed open letters in 2024 and 2025 calling on the University to strengthen its commitments.

To address this vulnerability, the AAUP Yale Chapter convened a cross-school working group of ladder and non-ladder faculty from FAS, SEAS, and the professional schools. After extensive review of Yale’s Faculty Handbook, peer institutions’ policies, and consultation with Yale Law faculty, the group developed proposed revisions to make academic freedom and shared governance explicit, durable, and binding.

What We Are Calling For

The AAUP Yale Chapter is urging Yale to adopt targeted revisions to the Faculty Handbook that would:

Why This Matters Now

Across the country, academic freedom is being undermined through faculty terminations, government investigations, and institutional cooperation with vague or politicized allegations. When protections are treated as merely aspirational, they fail precisely when they are most needed. Making academic freedom binding at Yale is essential to safeguarding free inquiry, strong faculty governance, and the University’s core mission.
Together, we can ensure that academic freedom at Yale is not just a value — but a right.

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