The Trust Agenda

Trump administration officials, particularly Secretary McMahon in Education, have driven a narrative that U.S. higher education can no longer be trusted and/or is trustable. This agenda is long-standing and Trump is not letting go, which renowned scholars Lee Bollinger (Columbia University) and Geoffrey Stone (University of Chicago) declare in their book, Academic Freedom in the Era of Trump, is equivalent to McCarthyism. There is little doubt that common factors from McCarthyism such as intentionally eroding public confidence, spurious and numerous claims, and persistence are the playbook for Trump and MAGA allies.

What to do about Trump's attempts to dismantle U.S. higher education has been a topic of discussion over the length of his first administration and is now becoming more urgent in the 2nd round. A survey of senior administrators reflected a significant level of unease as they face the 2026-27 academic year. Some believe that the impact of Trump's intervention in accreditation will likely be neglible, nor will it contribute to innovation. The podcast discussion of the AAC&U "The Trust Agenda" describes the reasons behind and the report provides a framework for how higher education can work together to combat the often unsupported and antagonistic assertions made by Trump.

After directly attacking key institutions, it is predictable that Trump would move on to attack accreditation because it is one of the core foundations for credibility of institutions in the U.S. and many colleges and universities beyond its boundaries. The new Education Department accreditation proposal takes authority away from existing groups under the guise of their having neglected their "position of public trust." Policy experts and accreditation officials "fear that the proposal will permanently politicize the long-standing evaluation mechanism designed to create uniform standards for American colleges and universities."

The Department of Defense (DOD) demanded records of 30 U.S. universities with international partnerships, claiming that research collaboration with entities engaged in activities that threaten the U.S. must cease. The notice required an "'immediate and comprehensive' audit of their partnerships" by the end of the month (August, 2026). Within a matter of days, UNC shut down its partnership with Fudan University in Shanghai. Within a week, Brandeis Professors at Center for Human Rights under Law published a Chicago Tribune Opinion "Is Qatar Encouraging Antisemitism on College Campuses?" claiming that Northwestern University's Education City partnership sought to bias its students against Jews. Granted the Chicago Tribune article is an "Opinion," but it should be recognized as part of the continuing effort to disrupt Qatar's efforts to provide educational opportunity for students in the Middle East and beyond. The claim of inappropriate entanglement with foreign interests is not new and is part of the relay race of attacking higher education under the direction of the Trump administration.

Elite colleges and universities were the first target - largely because their visibility makes them vulnerable and, secondarily, once the top falls, the rest are easy to take down. Whether it's the AAC&U solidarity stance or other strategies to come, higher education and those who value it must come together in vocal opposition to what's happening.

Further updates to follow - watch for changes on my blog.