Johns Hopkins University: Defend academic freedom and protect professional programs

We are Stand Strong Hopkins, a community of alums and allies urging Johns Hopkins University to publicly reject efforts to condition research funding, student aid, instruction, or academic policy on political compliance to the federal government.

For decades, a stable partnership between the federal government and Johns Hopkins has enabled groundbreaking research, world-class medical care, and broad access to professional education. That relationship is being rewritten in ways that undermines Hopkins’ mission and harms students.

The unique role of Johns Hopkins University in advancing medical and scientific discovery depends on academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and evidence-based decision-making.  These principles are now under direct threat by the federal government, which is why Stand Strong Hopkins is launching this petition in defense of academic freedom at Johns Hopkins as well as professional programs across all universities and colleges.

The Department of Education’s proposed interpretation of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” could significantly limit access to federal student loans for graduate and professional programs that rely on full cost-of-attendance borrowing. These changes would disproportionately affect students pursuing careers in fields such as:

By capping federal borrowing below the real cost of these programs, the proposal risks weakening essential workforce pipelines and limiting access to professions that serve the public good.

Targeting these programs through restrictions on federal student loan borrowing amounts to arbitrary executive action that effectively reclassifies how these disciplines are treated under federal student aid rules. By limiting access to financing that reflects the real cost of training, the policy risks weakening the healthcare workforce that communities across America depend on and sharply limiting opportunity for future students.

Hopkins alums and allies stand together with these professions and students. 

In addition to these specific attacks on students pursuing careers that serve the public good as identified above, the federal government is pressuring universities to comply with a so-called “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” that would condition access to research funding, student aid, and contracts on adherence to sweeping political mandates. These include tuition caps, limits on international student enrollment, so-called “neutrality” rules for faculty and staff, and restrictions on campus speech. 

“Compact” requirements substitute political control for scholarly judgment, allowing ideology, rather than evidence, to shape scientific research priorities, medical guidance, instructional content, and professional standards.

We, the undersigned affirm the long-standing principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy that are essential for strong, independent higher-education institutions. Therefore we call on Johns Hopkins and all universities to visibly and unequivocally:

As signatories, we urge university leadership – at Johns Hopkins and across all universities – to stand strong for your students, faculty, and the principles that make academic excellence possible. We urge you to refuse to enter into agreements that would compromise the university’s independence, integrity, or public purpose.

- Stand Strong Hopkins