Systemwide Academic Council Communication to UC President Milliken
On Federal Government's Demand Letter to UCLA
On October 3, 2025, Ahmet Palazoglu, Chair, systemwide Academic Council advised UC President Milliken on the Academic Council's position on the federal government's demand letter to UCLA. The statement affirmed the Council's strong opposition to any agreement that would compromise the University of California's institutional autonomy and academic freedom and underscores the Academic Senate's expectation of meaningful participation in any discussions concerning a potential settlement. The statement in its entirety reads as:
STATEMENT FROM THE UC ACADEMIC COUNCIL TO UC PRESIDENT MILLIKEN ON ANY AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
With unanimous resolve, the Academic Council makes the following statement regarding the demand letter issued to UCLA by the federal government. We understand that the Office of the President has expressed a willingness to engage the federal government in discussion. Ostensibly prompted by alleged Title VI violations, the government's investigation and actions against UCLA must now be understand as part of a systematic and unprecedented campaign to align universities with the politics and perspectives of the Trump administration. At stake is not only our institutional autonomy but the integrity of higher education itself.
Press reports -- and the examples of the Brown and Columbia agreements--suggest that the federal government is seeking sweeping concessions from UCLA and the UC that could cede control of core university functions to the Trump administration. There can be no clearer attack on academic freedom than an attempt to dictate curricular content, research priorities, hiring decisions, and admissions standards. While the financial penalties threatened by the federal government would in effect radically curtail UC's future, acquiescing in the idea that academic freedom, governance, and mission are negotiable would be equally ruinous.
The Academic Council therefore calls on the Office of the President and the UC Board of Regents to unequivocally reject governmental demands that compromise institutional autonomy and academic freedom.
The Academic Council further calls on the Office of the President and the UC Board of Regents to formally include the Senate in discussions concerning the terms and parameters of any proposed settlement agreement. In this moment of institutional risk, the principle and practice of shared governance must not only be recognized, but actively upheld.
The Academic Council stands ready to work collaboratively with the administration to defend the University of California and ensure its future as a self-governing, public trust.
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