Daniel J. Morrissey: We must affirm the principles that have guided higher education

Gonzaga University, where I teach, just received a charter for a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, an academic fraternity dedicated to honoring top college student and encouraging them to use their learning for the betterment of society. With American institutions of higher learning under fire from the Trump administration, it’s important to remember just how significant they have been and must continue to be for the advancement of civilization and the creation of a better life for all of us.

Since the Middle Ages, universities have promoted the classical ideal of intellectual, physical and moral excellence. They have taught students about the humanities and the sciences – preparing them for lives of success. In doing so they have not only imparted skills like writing and imaginative thinking so prized by employers today but also prepared their graduates to participate in our society as informed citizens. In addition, universities have promoted scholarship that has so enriched us by leading to products that have given us healthier and more prosperous lives.

The 1915 foundational statement of the American Association of University Professors recognized these goals in its Declaration of the Principle of Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure. Such independence, it asserted, was inextricably tied, not just to the education of students to foster their critical and creative thinking, but also to the advancement of knowledge through scientific research and other important fields of human inquiry. And the AAUP also forthrightly asserted that such expertise did not exist for its own sake but must be used for the common good.

We are now living through an unprecedented attack on American universities and colleges because of the Trump administration’s claim that they are strongholds of “woke” indoctrination – slang for being aware of injustice. Many would think that is a virtue and reaching out to those who have been historically excluded has always been a fundamental American ideal of the generous people that we are.

It’s thus hard to see how such policies pose a threat to the fabric of our country. Yet university programs advocating just that have come under heavy fire from Trump officials such as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia who has threatened not to hire Georgetown Law graduates unless that university ends such outreaches to diversify its student body. And in that vindictive spirit, the Trump administration has even tried to dictate college curricula and faculty hiring. No less a conservative voice than the Wall Street Journal has called that an infringement of free speech.

Such hostile activity is justified as retribution for the liberal prejudices said to be prevalent among academics. In that retaliatory spirt, federal grants to American professors are being revoked or frozen by Trump officials even though their research has often led to ground-breaking discoveries and the award of numerous Nobel prizes.

For decades moreover international students have come to U.S. universities. Some have stayed in our country making great contributions to our industries or other organizations. Others have returned to their homeland with American-inspired knowledge and values that have enriched their societies. Yet now the visas of international students are being revoked without explanation and as a result few young people in other countries are eager to study here.

But if American higher education is going to continue to thrive, it must be true to the AAUP’s 1915 Statement of Principles. Academics cannot be elitists, content to live in the proverbial ivory tower. Their teaching and scholarship must be done in the spirit of openness and intellectual humility. And their expertise must be freely shared with everyone. By doing so, our universities and colleges will continue to be respected, and their integrity will not be compromised by the actions of mean-spirited politicians.

Daniel J. Morrissey is a professor and former dean at Gonzaga University Law School.