Dear colleagues:

We are currently experiencing an unprecedented attack on higher education. The Trump and Musk administration has proposed massive cuts to critical funding that universities receive from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. At the same time, the current administration is attempting to force Universities to conform to a federally-mandated right-wing vision of what can be taught and who should make up the student body and academic workforce.

Make no mistake, despite being framed in terms of “efficiency,” every single one of the attempts to eliminate federal funding and restrict educational programs is an attack on our academic freedoms and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of faculty and employees at the University of California.

While the current onslaught has little parallel in its scope, Californians have confronted other threats to higher education before. Twenty years ago, when stem cell research was restricted, the people of California voted overwhelmingly for the state to take the lead and fund new initiatives, which lead to groundbreaking research that has informed treatments for Parkinson’s, spinal cord injury, and Type 1 diabetes. The initiative was so widely supported that eight years later, even though the federal government had loosened restrictions, Californians voted to double down on the state stem cell program.

California knows how to lead. However, at this moment when we are facing a direct threat from the federal government, the current California budget proposal includes an additional eight percent cut to state support, on top of anticipated losses in federal funds.

On March 4th, representatives from the statewide Council of University of California Faculty Associations (CUCFA) will be lobbying the state government on behalf of faculty, alongside academic worker’s unions that represent most of the UC’s 300,000 workers. Representatives from Faculty Associations and the UC unions will be meeting with legislators and joining the March in March rally hosted by eleven unions throughout the country. Together we intend to make it clear that the University–the state’s largest employer, and an unparalleled engine of economic growth–must be supported, in full.

What’s next?

CUCFA encourages all faculty to reach out to your state representatives to demand the state step in and pledge to fully fund the University. However, we also know that this fight will not be won with a few letters and emails. We need to be prepared to demonstrate that we take this attack seriously, and are ready to use our leverage to demand the changes that we know are necessary to support the work, research, and learning necessary to make the UC thrive.

In the coming weeks, CUCFA will be hosting a Zoom town hall meeting open to all UC senate faculty to discuss the current financial crisis at the UCs and to discuss our next steps toward building a faculty-led movement that advocates for our rights and defends public higher education.

Haven’t joined your local Faculty Association yet? The Faculty Associations are entirely member driven. Want to steer the FA’s advocacy? Join today. 

FA members also have the option to join the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which has been at the forefront of defending academic freedom and the rights of faculty members at the UCs and throughout the country.

Below are some recommended talking points for your messages to state representatives:

• UC is California’s largest employer (almost 300,000 workers). These cuts threaten a tidal wave of unemployment, in your district and state-wide.
• Research is funded annually, and funds continue to be frozen. Time is of the essence–a gap of weeks can mean a tidal wave of lost jobs/visas in your district. While legal challenges work their way through the courts, the administration is using procedural maneuvers to avoid complying.
• CA can absolutely afford this–the total funds needed are a fraction of a penny on the dollar of the state budget.
• CA has taken the lead on these issues before (Bush stem cell restrictions).
• The stem cell votes show that Californians overwhelmingly support the state taking a strong lead in advancing research. When given the chance to support academic research, the people of California speak resoundingly in favor.
• This is a political battle. Trump and Musk have openly stated that they want to gut higher education to impose their ideological program. If you fail to support UC, voters will see you explicitly taking Trump and Musk’s side.