Ohio State University officials say the state’s flagship institution is well prepared to answer the Trump administration’s latest appeal to colleges, but they stop short of saying whether it will. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent a three-page letter to universities across the country, asking campus leaders to publicly explain their stance on a variety of issues ranging from admissions to campus protests.
Federal Request
McMahon’s request – the latest call from Washington aimed at reining in what federal leaders believe is a too-liberal higher education system – isn’t law. It also doesn’t tie adherence to federal funding, making it different from a related ask the government made to nine universities in 2025.
Some of these new federal requests also overlap with existing state law. Ohio’s public colleges already must adhere to similar policies regarding free speech and rejecting foreign influence under Senate Bill 1, the sweeping law passed last year overhauling how public higher education works in Ohio.
Response from Institutions
The Association of American Universities provided guidance to federal leaders on the letter before it was released. The group represents nearly 70 of the country’s most influential research institutions, including Ohio State. National faculty unions slammed the AAU’s involvement, calling it an ‘unconscionable dereliction of duty.’ Union leaders also urged professors across the country to tell their own institutional leaders to rebuke the letter’s requests.
Original reporting: Signal Akron — read the source article.
