Press Coverage

The surge in membership to the A.A.U.P., which has both advocacy and collective-bargaining chapters affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, reflects a larger wave of activism in higher education.

Harvard’s chapter was among a clutch of AAUP chapters that “mushroomed” amid the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against higher education. Membership ballooned after the group filed its lawsuits. The chapter grew from just over 40 members at the beginning of last year to 122 by April 2025. By February, the group had amassed 312 members, drawing faculty from across Harvard’s schools — tenured professors, non-tenure-track instructors, researchers, and a small number of graduate students.

A federal judge in Boston moved to protect the free speech rights of international scholars who feared retribution for their views, after the federal government tried to deport students for expressing pro-Palestinian sentiments.

Highlighted in Academe, the AAUP–Harvard Faculty Chapter has grown more than 600% since 2024, defending faculty rights, challenging administrative overreach, and protecting academic freedom through advocacy, litigation, and campus-wide organizing.

After a court victory, Harvard researchers were told some grants were being restored. But the battle over whether the government can halt the money is probably not over.

A federal judge in Boston on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to reverse its cuts of more than $2.6 billion in research funding for Harvard University, delivering a significant victory to the Ivy League school in its battle with the White House.

The A.A.U.P. is, for now, pressing forward with its own lawsuit against the Trump administration, even as Harvard would be likely to resolve, as part of any deal with the White House, the two federal court cases it filed.

Lawsuit filed along with motion for temporary restraining order calls threats an existential ‘gun to the head’

Cambridge officials, residents, and members of the Harvard community braved the cold and rain Saturday for a rally on the Cambridge Common calling on Harvard University to push back on new demands by the Trump administration. The Cambridge City Council partially sponsored the demonstration.

Harvard professors are suing the Trump administration over its review of about $9 billion in federal funding for the university following pro-Palestine protests, calling the move a “gun to the head.” In the lawsuit, the professors argue that reviewing the funding is discriminatory and undermines free speech.