AAC&U in the News

Recent News

University World News\

Champions issue demand for respect for HE’s independence

AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella said there “is a significant difference between inviting institutions to demonstrate how they are fulfilling their responsibilities to students and the public and using federal authority to prescribe how they must teach, conduct research, hire faculty, or define their educational missions. Public accountability is essential, but it must not involve the substitution of decisions based on academic expertise with those based on political ideology.”

Chemical & Engineering News\

Colleges grapple with AI use in the STEM classroom amid uncertain impacts

According to one survey conducted by AAC&U and Elon University in November 2025, 87% of the 1,057 surveyed faculty said that they had created their own AI policies, but only around half said an institution-wide policy existed at their schools. “Sometimes the policies are just, ‘Ask your faculty member. See what they have on their syllabi,’ ” says C. Edward Watson, coauthor of the survey report and vice president of digital innovation at AAC&U.

Past News Items

  • The New York Times \ September 29, 2026
    College Leaders Are Using A.I. Students Call It Hypocrisy.
    The scope of A.I. use by university employees is not entirely clear, but one of the most comprehensive surveys, conducted last fall by Elon University and the American Association of Colleges and Universities, found that about a quarter of the 1,057 faculty members from across the country who responded were not using generative A.I. tools.
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education \ September 24, 2026
    What Ails Higher Ed? Elite Colleges Say the Cure Comes From Within.
    “Any report that provides data on what the public is thinking about higher education, how institutions are grappling with issues of affordability and value, how they’re addressing academic freedom and intellectual pluralism, governance, those are all helpful,” [AAC&U President Lynn] Pasquerella said.
  • The New York Review \ September 24, 2026
    The Dartmouth Exception
    AAC&U circulated a forceful joint letter that read: “As leaders of America’s colleges, universities, and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.” The letter’s 666 signatories included all of the other schools in the Ivy League with one notable exception: Dartmouth.
  • Nature \ September 23, 2026
    How to stay smart in the age of AI: the science of critical thinking
    In a 2025 survey of more than 1,000 US faculty members, conducted by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, 90% said they thought that generative AI will reduce students’ critical-thinking skills.
  • Inside Higher Ed  \ September 22, 2026
    The Way(s) Forward on Measuring Learning
    The Essential Learning Outcomes Framework from AAC&U morphed into the VALUE rubrics, and Lumina Foundation’s 2011 Degree Qualifications Profile sought to gauge what learners should know and be able to do by the time they’ve attained an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree, regardless of field. These frameworks offer a useful starting point to show we could develop a common definition of the capabilities, knowledge, skills and habits of mind that learners should acquire with the help of an educational experience.
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette \ September 20, 2026
    Carnegie Mellon moves to limit speech as controversial posts test limits of academic freedom
    “The fact that speech is offensive doesn’t in and of itself answer the question of whether a faculty member should be disciplined for it,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
  • University World News \ September 19, 2026
    Judge halts four-year cap on international student visas
    [Judge] Saylor’s decision was also warmly welcomed by Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, as “an important one both for international students and for American higher education”.
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education \ September 17, 2026
    Are Foreign Ties Just the Latest Excuse to Punish Colleges?
    [AAC&U President Lynn] Pasquerella disagreed with what she saw as the government’s moving toward a harder-line approach to collaborating with Chinese researchers. She thought that American scientists had much to learn from their Chinese counterparts in the field of AI, and that American society could gain from the goodwill engendered in academic exchanges.
  • Insider Higher Ed \ September 14, 2026
    Why We Haven’t Measured College-Level Learning
    Many other advocates for stronger assessment focused not on standardized exams but on assessing portfolios of actual student work to find evidence of learning growth. AAC&U's Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) designed a set of rubrics to define 16 broad learning outcomes, applied the rubrics to samples of student work produced in courses and programs, and scored it.
  • Business Insider \ August 31, 2026
    The myth of workplace readiness
    “The question isn’t whether colleges should prepare students for careers. They absolutely must,” says Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U. “It’s whether we prepare students for the job that exists today, or give them the kinds of knowledge, skills, competencies, and judgments to navigate a lifetime of work in an economy that’s going to continue to change, especially with the rapid proliferation of AI.”
  • University World News \ August 31, 2026
    US$3.4 billion loss from drop in international students
    “The projected decline in international students is not surprising given the cumulative effect of visa restrictions, uncertainty and the perception that the United States is becoming less welcoming,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the AAC&U.
  • BBC News \ August 29, 2026
    Canada poaches dozens of top US researchers for its universities
    Lynn Pasquerella, the president of AAC&U, said institutions felt “helpless” in the face of federal and state cuts. The deeper concern, she added, was “not the short-term brain drain” but “the possibility that the US could become less attractive as a place to pursue knowledge.”
  • The Times of London \ August 28, 2026
    ‘My college accused me of using AI to cheat. So I sued — and won’
    In a survey from AAC&U this year of 1,057 faculty members, 78 per cent said cheating had increased on campus since AI became widely available. But those who speak out increasingly risk being sued.
  • Washington Monthly \ August 28, 2026
    How to Pick a College in the Age of AI
    Whether critical thinking, communication, problem-solving, or general social skills, the majority of employers want more than mere mastery of a discipline. The Business-Higher Education Forum calls these “21st century workplace competencies.” The Association of American Colleges and Universities calls them “essential learning outcomes.” They are, in fact, what a liberal arts education has always aimed to produce.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ August 28, 2026
    MIT AI Report Calls for Alternative Grading, More Social Learning
    According to a January survey by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, 73 percent of faculty members report they have personally dealt with academic integrity issues involving their students’ use of AI. Students, on the other hand, are scared of being accused of using AI.
  • The Financial Times \ August 27, 2026
    Canada poaches 48 top US-based academics
    Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and
    Universities, said: “If the US continues to become less attractive to scholars, we risk losing not only individual researchers but the ideas, discoveries and innovations that depend on their work.”
  • Inside Higher Ed \ August 26, 2026
    No, Civil Discourse Programs Aren’t a Right-Wing Conspiracy
    A 2025 national faculty study our foundation commissioned, conducted by AAC&U and the AAUP with NORC at the University of Chicago, surveyed more than 8,000 faculty and found 52 percent had at least occasionally felt concerned about their ability to state what they believe as scholars, and 45.3 percent had refrained from expressing an opinion for fear of drawing outside attention.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ August 24, 2026
    Enough With the Performative Apologia
    The American Association of Colleges and Universities regularly surveys a large pool of employers about their confidence in higher education to train graduates for workplace success; a large majority of them express confidence or high confidence in the abilities of colleges and universities to do so.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ August 24, 2026
    Cornell Hopes to Turn Cheating Into Teachable Moment
    According to a recent survey from the American Association of Colleges and Universities, 73 percent of faculty say they have personally dealt with academic integrity issues involving AI.
  • Mass Live \ August 23, 2026
    Higher education is trying to stay relevant with AI. Some students don’t want it
    This year, more than ever, C. Edward Watson, vice president for digital innovation at AAC&U, said universities and colleges are grappling with the unethical murkiness of AI — from environmental impacts to data centers to intellectual theft concerns and the potential effect on jobs — while also trying to stay relevant in the current marketplace.
  • University World News \ August 18, 2026
    Public trust and government trust aren’t the same for HE
    As we explain in a recent American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) report on public trust, the administration’s criticisms of higher education aren’t necessarily the same things the public is worried about.
  • WGBH \ August 13, 2026
    Mass. education officials hail judge’s dismissal of Trump lawsuit alleging antisemitism at Harvard
    Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U, said antisemitism must be confronted wherever it occurs on our campuses. However, she added that “the essential work of combating antisemitism must not be conflated with efforts to use federal civil rights law as a tool for political coercion or governmental control over colleges and universities.”
  • University Business \ August 10, 2026
    ‘The Trust Agenda’ sets the mission. Art schools have the methods.
    When the American Association of Colleges and Universities released “The Trust Agenda” in June 2026, it traded defense for a plan. Rather than questioning eroding public confidence, AAC&U looked at what is happening inside higher education and offered five concrete strategies to earn trust back.
  • U.S. News & World Report \ August 4, 2026
    McMahon’s ‘National Call to Action’ Draws Measured Response From Higher Education
    Yet some groups suggested that the priorities outlined by the administration are already the focus of attention for university administrators. “The fact is that colleges and universities are already engaged in much of the work outlined in the Secretary’s Call to Action,” AAC&U wrote in a statement. “The questions raised in the Secretary’s Call to Action touch on issues that colleges and universities confront every day.”
  • Inside Higher Ed \ August 3, 2026
    Trump Officials Try Again to Reform Colleges, With Higher Ed’s Help
    “While there is always room for improvement, it is disappointing that these longstanding commitments are framed in a way that calls into question the dedication of institutions and the millions of faculty, staff, and administrators who have devoted themselves to advancing educational opportunity, research, innovation, and the public good,” AAC&U president Lynn Pasquerella said.
  • Forbes \ August 3, 2026
    Why School Rankings Mislead Families
    Research summarized by the Association of American Colleges & Universities on the educational benefits of diversity concludes that students educated in heterogeneous learning environments show stronger critical thinking, greater civic engagement, and better preparation for leadership in a progressively interconnected society.
  • The Independent \ July 29, 2026
    How teachers are catching AI cheats and sending students back to the analogue age
    Three-quarters of respondents to a survey from the American Association of Colleges and Universities said they were concerned about students using generative AI tools like ChatGPT to cheat.
  • Higher Ed Dive \ July 27, 2026
    3 dozen of Harvard’s peers back its court fight against the Trump administration
    In a separate amicus brief last week, nearly 30 higher education organizations — including the American Council on Education, Association of American Colleges and Universities, and Association of American Universities — offered a more direct defense of Harvard. “The Administration’s retaliation against Harvard is unconstitutional,” the organizations argued.
  • Financial Times \ July 23, 2026
    Universities drop AI detection tools over fears about accuracy
    Edward Watson, vice-president for digital innovation at the American Association of Colleges and Universities, notes that the primary concern is the potential for false positives. “AI detection should, at most, serve a minor role in academic integrity cases,” he says. “Faculty [should] never use AI detection as ‘hard evidence’ or ‘smoking gun proof’.”
  • University World News \ July 23, 2026
    Trump’s ‘extortion’ is destroying university autonomy – AAUP
    Speaking for the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Jeremy C Young, senior advisor for strategic initiatives, said: “The AAUP’s thoughtful new report on extorted compliance underscores AAC&U's own call, in our recent report The Trust Agenda, for a coordinated, mission-centred defence of higher education.
  • Chronicle of Higher Education \ July 21, 2026
    The Research Cuts No One Is Talking About
    “Many MSIs have spent years building their research capacity, investing in labs, and hiring faculty,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. “The disruption and upending of these grants has the potential for a profound and lasting impact on the nation’s research enterprise.”
  • Higher Ed Dive \ July 20, 2026
    ‘A razor’s edge’: How colleges are navigating civil rights probes under Trump
    In April 2025, roughly 250 leaders of hundreds of colleges and universities signed a letter condemning the administration’s efforts to coerce institutions into changing their campus policies — citing the danger that poses to academic freedom and free speech rights. Their “call for constructive engagement” came under the auspices of AAC&U and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since then, the number of signatories have surpassed 660.
  • University Business \ July 17, 2026
    AI didn’t kill the liberal arts: It’s making a new case for them
    My college recently approved a new certificate program in artificial intelligence, and the faculty conversations that preceded the vote were expansive and thoughtful. […] The certificate was not our starting point. It came after a full year of conversation through participation in the AAC&U Institute on AI and Curriculum, with a specific focus on curricular integration.
  • International Business Times \ July 16, 2026
    Trump Plans to Let Political Appointees Control $1 Trillion in Federal Grants, Earning Pushback From Scientists
    Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, warned that replacing expert evaluation with political decision-making could weaken one of America's greatest competitive advantages.
  • Forbes \ July 14, 2026
    The Operating System Gap: Why Institutions Should Prioritize Career Readiness
    The career center was designed to help students who showed up rather than being designed to reach the students who did not know they needed to. The frameworks to do better have existed for years. The American Association of Colleges and Universities built a Career Readiness Pathway anchored in experiential learning and high-impact practices.
  • The EDU Ledger \ July 14, 2026
    Americans’ Confidence in Colleges Continues Long-Term Slide
    Jeremy C. Young, senior advisor for strategic initiatives at AAC&U, said the affordability issue is not something colleges can easily fix on their own, particularly amid what he referred to as state disinvestment in higher education.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ July 14, 2026
    Democrats’ Confidence in Higher Ed Hits Record Low
    “We have to be able to make the case that higher ed can change and adapt to the needs of the 21st century, that it can support students in getting jobs, that it can address challenges of affordability and that it has tangible value in the community even if you never attend college,” Jeremy Young, senior adviser for strategic initiatives at AAC&U, told Inside Higher Ed.
  • The PIE News \ July 10, 2026
    White House proposal to “dramatically weaken” US research, experts warn
    “For decades, the United States has led the world in research because experts in the relevant fields – not political officials – have evaluated proposals for their quality, originality, and potential impact,” President of AAC&U Lynn Pasquerella told The PIE News.
  • University World News \ July 9, 2026
    Judges uphold injunction on Florida’s anti-woke act
    “Yesterday’s ruling,” Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U, said, “is an important affirmation that colleges and universities must remain places where faculty can pursue scholarship and teaching without political interference.The ability to examine complex and contested issues—including race, gender, history and inequality—is fundamental to the mission of American higher education.”
  • Inside Higher Ed \ July 8, 2026
    Brown Professor Suspects Majority of His Class Used AI to Cheat
    Three-quarters of Brown professors said they are concerned about students using AI to cheat, according to feedback from 105 faculty members. The same share of respondents said the same in a 2025 nationwide survey from the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
  • Forbes \ July 7, 2026
    50,000 Students and Faculty Just Revealed Higher Ed’s Top AI Challenge
    Free textbooks, when fully embraced by administrators and faculty, lead to better student outcomes, a new American Association of Colleges and Universities report finds.
  • Forbes \ July 7, 2026
    The Higher Education Story Not Being Told Well Enough
    AAC&U’s recent employer research continues to show that employers value many of the outcomes long associated with a broad college education: communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, adaptability and ethical judgment. That is an important message.
  • University Business \ July 6, 2026
    New research shows OER’s biggest impact isn’t cost—it’s completion
    Free textbooks, when fully embraced by administrators and faculty, lead to better student outcomes, a new American Association of Colleges and Universities report finds.
  • The Guardian \ June 28, 2026
    ‘Dialogue is all the rage’: why is the right pouring millions into ‘civil discourse’ initiatives on US campuses?
    “Suddenly dialogue is all the rage,” said Nancy Thomas, the executive director of the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at the American Association of Colleges and Universities. “It’s become a money-making industry.”
  • The Atlantic \ June 27, 2026
    Higher Ed Is Very Sorry
    Three reports—from Yale, from Vanderbilt and Washington University in St. Louis, and from the American Association of Colleges and Universities, a higher-education advocacy group—were released this spring. (Cornell is working on a study of its own.) The reports differ in their diagnoses of where higher education went wrong and, by extension, of what should be done now.
  • Money \ June 26, 2026
    Didn’t Get Into Your Top College? Here's How to Get a Do-Over
    Flagship public universities like the UC campuses are often very welcoming to the transfer strategy, according to Lynn Pasquerella, president of the nonprofit American Association of Colleges and Universities. […] Pasquerella remains a strong advocate for transfers, and argues that community college builds unique traits that a full four years at a university couldn’t.
  • University World News \ June 24, 2026
    How to rebuild trust in higher education from the inside out
    Last week, AAC&U released its Trust Agenda: A framework for advancing public trust in higher education, a clarion call for the sector to confront the dramatic collapse in public confidence, from 57% to 36% between 2015 and 2024. The document is timely, the diagnosis sharp and the urgency real.
  • Fortune \ June 23, 2026
    Gen Z: if you want to succeed at work, you need to start friction-maxxing
    A 2025 survey by the American Association of Colleges and Universities found that 96% of employers say the ability to work through disagreement productively matters in today’s workplace. Only 34% think recent grads are ready to do it.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ June 23, 2026
    We Have Never Taught Critical Thinking
    In fall 2025, 90 percent of faculty surveyed by the American Association of Colleges and Universities said generative AI will diminish students’ critical thinking skills. The number should alarm us. But it also reveals something faculty rarely ask out loud: If a new tool can erode critical thinking this quickly, were we ever really teaching it in the first place?
  • Washington Post \ June 23, 2026
    Colleges are accepting transfer credits from online platforms that aren’t schools
    Critics worry the platforms make it too easy for students to fly through coursework without actually learning the material. There are no class meetings. No required lectures. No discussion groups. “It’s hollowing out what makes a degree valuable,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U.
  • MarketWatch \ June 22, 2026
    At school, it’s cheating. At work, it’s essential. New grads are caught in a double standard around AI.
    As the technology barreled onto campuses with the release of OpenAI’s generative-AI chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022 and Google’s Gemini in late 2023, cheating and academic integrity were the initial concerns of higher-education faculty and administrators, said C. Edward Watson, vice president for digital innovation at the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
  • The EDU Ledger \ June 21, 2026
    New Report From AAC&U Outlines Lower Withdrawal Rates, Shorter Time-To-Completion at Institutions Using OER
    A new report released today by the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) suggests OER adoption is not just a cost-saving resource, but a high-impact institutional practice.
  • University World News \ June 21, 2026
    AAC&U unveils a plan to rebuild public trust in universities
    With the release of Trust Agenda: A framework for advancing public trust in higher education (Trust Agenda) last Tuesday, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) issued a clarion call for America’s almost 6,000 colleges and universities to counter the decades-long decline in trust in higher education.
  • The Washington Post \ June 17, 2026
    Colleges know public trust has plummeted, and leaders are seeking a fix
    AAC&U’s report resulted from conversations school leaders had in response to the Trump administration attacks last year, said the association’s president, Lynn Pasquerella. […] The report, aimed at leaders of individual campuses, has five recommendations, and the association plans to spend the next few years trying to help implement them. The most important goal is for colleges to be anchors in their communities, she said, to make clear that they’re serving the common good.
  • Chronicle of Higher Education \ June 17, 2026
    A New 21st-Century Social Contract
    It’s time for colleges to change in the face of a leery public and hostile government officials, the American Association of Colleges and Universities said on Tuesday in a report it calls The Trust Agenda.
  • University Business \ June 17, 2026
    Here are 5 ways colleges can build new trust in higher ed
    Campus leaders must develop reforms and form new community partnerships to rebuild confidence in their institutions and demonstrate higher ed’s value, says “The Trust Agenda: A Framework for Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education,” newly released by the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
  • BriefGlance \ June 16, 2026
    The University Under Siege: A New Blueprint for Rebuilding Public Trust
    Ultimately, The Trust Agenda is about more than saving individual institutions from enrollment declines or budget cuts. It is a defense of higher education’s essential role in a democratic society.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ June 16, 2026
    Colleges Must Act Now to Regain Public Trust, AAC&U Says
    A new report, released Tuesday, argues colleges can take accountability for low public confidence without conceding to political criticism.
  • College Watch \ June 9, 2026
    Vanishing Majors; Vanishing Courses
    While there have been movements throughout history to undermine higher education, including during WWI and the McCarthy era, the recent attacks are unprecedented, according to Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U.
  • Higher Ed Jobs \ June 5, 2026
    Building a Better Adjunct Faculty Experience: Lessons from Three Campuses
    What does it look like to invest in adjunct faculty as educators and as people? What structures, programs, and cultural shifts help part-time instructors feel prepared, valued, and genuinely connected to their institutions? At the 2026 AAC&U Annual Meeting, leaders from three institutions offered answers.
  • Fortune \ June 3, 2026
    The IBM executive tasked with retraining 30 million workers is changing how she thinks about the AI finish line
    A recent survey from the American Association of Colleges and Universities and Elon University found that 63% of faculty said graduates were not very or not at all prepared to use generative AI in the workplace.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ June 1, 2026
    Can You Build an Electric Race Car?
    High-impact practices, as defined by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, includes 10 types of evidence-based learning techniques focused on applying theory to practice.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ May 28, 2026
    Alger to Resign from American U to Become America 250 Fellow
    After two years at the helm, American University president Jonathan Alger is stepping down to take a joint appointment announced by the American Council on Education and the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the university announced Wednesday.
  • New York Times \ May 6, 2026
    Trump Administration Investigating Smith College Over Transgender Admissions
    “This is an issue that affects a small number of individuals very deeply,” Dr. Pasquerella said. “But it will create uncertainty for transgender students and discourage them from applying, and that will be the real loss.”
  • Inside Higher Ed \ May 4, 2026
    Smith College Faces Federal Investigation for Admitting Trans Women
    “What we have seen [from the Trump administration] is attempts to use fear and intimidation,” Lynn Pasquerella said, referring to a slew of attacks on colleges last year due to their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The regulatory guidance and resulting investigations “were not based in the law, and yet they led to a flurry of overcompliance and overcorrection that eliminated DEI programs, initiatives, offices, curricula.”
  • Government Technology \ April 30, 2026
    Implementing AI for Higher Ed: From the Top Down, or Bottom Up?
    As colleges negotiate how to implement artificial intelligence, a question emerges: Is a top-down or bottom-up approach more effective? In a webinar series this week hosted by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), AI facilitators at institutions of varying sizes and focus areas said that, ultimately, institutions will need to blend the two.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ April 27, 2026
    Making Higher Ed More National (but Not Federal)
    The teaching and learning space is extremely difficult to understand, to organize, let alone to corral in some way. Which is why efforts to improve it or “reform” it at any kind of systematic level have been so evasive, despite significant work by groups like the American Association of Colleges and Universities and many disciplinary associations.
  • The Canadian Press \ April 25, 2026
    Experts report a surge in interest among American academics looking to move to Canada
    Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U, told The Canadian Press that many academics are feeling political pressure from state and federal governments to change what they teach and study. “Faculty members are not only experiencing burnout but extraordinary moral distress, where they feel coerced into making decisions they believe are unethical but they feel they have no choice,” Pasquerella said.
  • Business Insider \ April 23, 2026
    Meet the graduating class of CollegeGPT
    AI has democratized individualized tutoring of a sort, says Lynn Pasquerella, the president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. “If you can get instant explanations, instant feedback, and help with complex tasks, that can accelerate learning, and it makes students feel more comfortable experimenting and adapting, which are valuable skills in a rapidly changing workforce.”
  • University World News \ April 22, 2026
    Shock greets ‘gender ideology’ ban in Texas universities
    AAC&U president Lynn Pasquerella told University World News: “To proscribe or limit the teaching and discussion of certain topics, even when the content is central to the discipline, violates academic freedom and undermines shared governance, which accords faculty control over the curriculum based on their academic expertise, not political ideology.”
  • Axios \ April 16, 2026
    Behind the Curtain: The kids aren’t AI-right
    63% of faculty think their schools’ 2025 graduates were not very or not at all prepared to use AI at work, per an American Association of Colleges and Universities survey.
  • Forbes \ April 7, 2026
    4 Education Trends That Could Shape the Next Generation of Employees
    Civic engagement can also be a precursor to leadership development in the workplace, long term. According to an AAC&U survey, 94% of employers surveyed believe higher education should prepare students for the workforce and civic responsibility.
  • San Francisco Chronicle \ April 4, 2026
    UC execs sit on boards of university vendors. A new bill would outlaw these financial ties
    Another advantage to being on a company board is that university leaders can connect with industry trends and “innovation pipelines,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U. Such relationships are seen as mutually beneficial, with companies gaining expertise from university leaders, “especially in areas like healthcare, artificial intelligence, and life sciences,” she said.
  • University World News \ April 2, 2026
    17 states sue to block Trump’s HE admissions data demand
    Speaking for the thousands of America’s institutions of higher learning, Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U, said: “On the procedural level, the states are arguing that the Department of Education changed reporting requirements without proper legal process…. But the bottom line is, this isn’t just about data. It's about whether the federal government can unilaterally shape how universities operate.”
  • Chronicle of Higher Education \ March 31, 2026
    Colleges Need a New Sales Pitch
    “It’s hard to focus on the long term, or even the medium term, when the short term is so awful,” said Jeremy C. Young, senior adviser for strategic initiatives at the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
  • Insider Higher Ed \ March 27, 2026
    Faculty Push Back Against OpenAI Deals
    No matter a university’s financial picture, it’s crucial to keep faculty at the center of these decisions to provide campuswide access to ChatGPT Edu or the phalanx of other AI-powered learning tools emerging by the day, said C. Edward Watson, vice president for digital innovation at the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
  • University Business \ March 26, 2026
    Here are 3 ways to challenge harmful narratives about higher ed
    Employers are also optimistic, with 70% having either “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in US higher education, according to a December 2025 survey from AAC&U.
  • Forbes \ March 25, 2026
    Why AI Policy Is Really a Workforce Question for Higher Education
    A 2026 AAC&U/Elon University survey of over 1,000 faculty found that 90% believe AI is weakening students’ critical thinking and 63% believe that 2025 graduates were not prepared for AI in the workplace.
  • MassLive \ March 23, 2026
    Colleges are under pressure. What are they doing to reinvent themselves?
    Heightened scrutiny of higher education makes this a critical moment for innovation, said Lynn Pasquerella, former president of Mount Holyoke College and current president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. “There is a real opportunity to revolutionize and reimagine higher education in ways that meet the equity imperative before us,” Pasquerella said.
  • MoneyLion \ March 19, 2026
    Mark Cuban: ‘Don’t Apply for a Job with Me’ if You Don't Have This Valuable Asset
    A survey from the American Association of Colleges and Universities revealed the aptitudes, or personality traits, most desirable to employers. The findings supported Lindo and Cuban's views.
  • The Evolllution \ March 17, 2026
    Cuneiform Tablets Are More Useful Than Academic Transcripts
    As the American Association of Colleges and Universities has long documented, employers are seeking evidence of skills, integrative learning, and applied knowledge, not course codes alone.
  • University Business \ March 12, 2026
    Bridging talent gaps: How colleges can better serve the workforce
    According to a 2023 employer survey and report from the American Association of Colleges and Universities, only half of employers believe college graduates are “very prepared” for the workforce when it comes to skills like oral and written communication, critical thinking and complex problem-solving.
  • Christian Science Monitor \ March 12, 2026
    Epstein scandal prompts universities to rethink donor ties
    “This certainly put the spotlight on the need for stronger donor vetting policies,” says Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, and former president of Mount Holyoke College. “This requires a shift in the culture. It requires faculty and administrators to raise concerns about problematic donors.”
  • Higher Ed Jobs \ February 25, 2026
    Practical Approaches to Leadership, Decision-Making, and Well-Being in Higher Ed
    At the recent American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Annual Meeting, several senior higher education leaders shared insights on how they manage decision-making, protect their time, and lead effectively without burning out.
  • The PIE News \ February 23, 2026
    US urged to face “hard truths” of shifting operating environment
    Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U, highlighted the vital need for kinship in an increasingly distrustful and siloed operating environment. “Because in this post-truth era—in which controlling the narrative is more important than the facts—it doesn’t matter how much data you produce if we are not trusted messengers.”
  • EdTech Magazine \ February 18, 2026
    Active Learning Classrooms Foster Collaboration Among Students
    “With active learning, there’s a continuum of strategies and activities that faculty can use in their classrooms,” says Kate McConnell, vice president for curricular and pedagogical innovation at AAC&U. Space flexibility is one common theme, as students are often asked to move and mingle. And while technology isn’t required, when it’s used creatively and strategically, “its impact on learning can be significant,” McConnell notes.
  • The Hill \ February 18, 2026
    College fundraising faces scrutiny after latest batch of Epstein files
    “The Epstein case shows that reforms aren’t just about policies, they’re about organizational cultures, and so faculty and administrators need to be willing to raise concerns about problematic donors, and so that requires ongoing cultural development about the mission, vision and values of institutions,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ February 17, 2026
    Flood the Zone
    “The Agility Imperative,” a 2025 survey of 1,030 employers published by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, reinforces what higher ed thought leaders already understand—that students increasingly need diverse experiential opportunities to be competitive in today’s rapidly evolving labor market.
  • University World News \ February 13, 2026
    Top Texas University Deepens Fears for ‘DEI’ Programmes
    “While framed as neutral and efficiency-driven, the decision will inevitably be viewed against the backdrop of these particular fields being politically contested in Texas, said AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella. “Restructuring them amid legislative scrutiny raises understandable worries about indirect political influence and how structural consolidation increases institutional leverage over controversial scholarship, creating conditions that make long-term weakening of academic freedom and scholarly integrity more likely.”
  • Washington Post \ February 12, 2026
    Academic independence must be protected. Here’s how.
    While their critics tilt at windmills and outdated myths, university leaders stand together in defending American higher education from outside attacks — whether from the far right or far left. Universities, our nation’s most globally competitive sector, are outsmarting Trump with unified leadership.
  • University World News \ February 12, 2026
    Reputational Fears at Texas A&M Amid Latest Programme Cut
    “Courses in Women’s and Gender Studies contribute meaningfully to students’ understanding of history, society, health, culture, and civic life. The forced elimination of such programmes on ideological grounds prevents students from exposure to diverse perspectives, current scholarship, and thoughtful engagement with the complexities of a multifaceted world, necessary for thriving in work, citizenship, and life,” said Lynn Pasquarella, president of AAC&U.
  • CBC Radio \ February 11, 2026
    Bishop's professor Jessica Riddel new Vice Chair of the American Association of Colleges and Universities
    Professor Jessica Riddell from Bishop's University joins Breakaway host Alison Brunette to talk about where she finds hope, why she's decided to write several books on the subject, and about her new appointment as Vice Chair of the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
  • WGBH \ February 06, 2026
    Federal Education Department investigates Tufts over independent voter research
    Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U, said the threat of increased government oversight is nothing new. “We’ve come to expect that,” Pasquerella said, pointing to the Trump administration’s broader attacks on higher education. However, she added that “it’s the idea that nonpartisan research on civic participation could be treated as suspect simply because it relates to voting.”
  • Higher Ed Dive \ February 03, 2026
    Top takeaways for college presidents from AAC&U’s conference
    Every institution is unique, but fortunately, college leaders can learn from each other’s experiences. They had the opportunity to do just that at the American Association of Colleges and Universities′ annual meeting last month.
  • Higher Ed Dive \ January 30, 2026
    How 3 college leaders work to boost economic mobility
    A new analysis from nonprofit research firm Public Agenda examines, in part, how some colleges are tailoring their student support services to low-income students to improve their economic mobility. The presidents of three of those institutions spoke to attendees at the American Association of Colleges and Universities′ annual conference last week about practical ways they work to improve student outcomes.
  • University World News \ January 30, 2026
    HE leaders alarmed by Texas ban on skilled foreign workers
    Students, some of whom are in the United States on visas (particularly those from traditionally under-represented communities like Latina/Latino Americans who are first-generation students), are feeling vulnerable, according to AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella. These feelings are exacerbated by the continuing arrests by Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents, even of American citizens whose skin colour is taken to mean this person is not an American.
  • University World News \ January 28, 2026
    Over 90% of Faculty Say GenAI Is Killing Critical Thinking
    Dr. C Edward Watson, the AAC&U’s vice-president for digital innovation, who co-authored the AI Challenge, told University World News that the student who uses GenAI to provide a one-page or half-page summary of an article could be said to be using AI productively, except that getting the gist is no replacement for “squeezing the juice out of an article” by reading it.
  • Forbes \ January 28, 2026
    90% Of Faculty Say AI Is Weakening Student Learning: How Higher Ed Can Reverse It
    Ninety percent of faculty say that AI is weakening critical thinking; a core component of higher-order student learning. This is according to a January 2026 survey of 1,057 faculty members conducted by the American Association of Colleges and Universities and Elon University. That concern is echoed globally.
  • New York Times \ January 27, 2026
    Texas Moves to Curtail Visas for Skilled Foreign Workers
    Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, said the political uncertainty created by Mr. Abbott’s move discourages global talent from choosing American schools. “Reductions in hiring could weaken research output, slow innovation and make Texas institutions less competitive nationally,” she said in an email, adding that Mr. Abbott’s move was “another example of government overreach.”
  • Higher Ed Dive \ January 27, 2026
    How College Leaders Decide When to Speak Out
    College presidents at the American Association of Colleges and Universities’ annual conference advised others to look to their mission as their North Star.
  • Fox News \ January 23, 2026
    95% of faculty say AI making students dangerously dependent on technology for learning: survey
    A new survey from the American Association of Colleges and Universities and Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center found that an overwhelming majority of college faculty are concerned that artificial intelligence is harming students’ critical thinking abilities.
  • Higher Ed Dive \ January 23, 2026
    ‘The pace is relentless’: How college leaders are adapting to an increasingly hectic job
    “Leadership right now is not just demanding. It is cognitively and emotionally dense,” Francine Conway, chancellor of Rutgers University–New Brunswick, said Thursday at the American Association of Colleges and Universities′ annual conference in Washington, D.C. During a standing-room-only panel, Conway and other senior college officials offered attendees practical solutions to solving some of the most prosaic day-to-day challenges that can slow leaders — and their institutions — down.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ January 23, 2026
    Higher Ed Urged to ‘Stand Up’ to Government Attacks
    A free expression lawyer, a university system leader and a civil rights activist were unified in their call to higher ed leaders to “stand up” against violations of First Amendment rights and the stifling of free speech on campuses at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
  • University Business \ January 21, 2026
    Faculty worry there are several ways AI is harming students
    Most faculty members worry students’ overreliance on generative AI will come at the cost of their ability to think critically and other skills. Faculty also fear these tech tools will shorten students’ attention spans, erode academic integrity and lessen the value of college degrees, a new American Association of Colleges and Universities survey finds.
  • The EDU Ledger \ January 21, 2026
    Faculty Express Deep Concern Over AI's Impact on Higher Education
    "When more than nine in ten faculty warn that generative AI may weaken critical thinking and increase student overreliance, it is clear that higher education is at an inflection point," said Eddie Watson, Vice President for Digital Innovation at AAC&U.
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education \ January 21, 2026
    Faculty Are Overwhelmed and Conflicted by AI, Survey Shows
    Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U, said she was not surprised that many instructors feel that their colleges provide too little support around AI. Given the number of challenges colleges face today, it’s easy for AI to fall off the list of most-pressing concerns.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ January 21, 2026
    Survey: Faculty Say AI Is Impactful—But Not in a Good Way
    Nine in 10 faculty members say that generative AI will diminish students’ critical thinking skills, and 95 percent say its impact will increase students’ overreliance on AI tools over time, according to a report out today from the American Association of Colleges and Universities and Elon University.
  • New York Magazine \ January 20, 2026
    What Is College for in the Age of AI?
    A study by the American Association of Colleges and Universities and Elon University found that fewer than half of college leaders say their campuses were ready to use AI to prepare students for the future.
  • Inside Higher Ed \ January 20, 2026
    4 Takeaways from Trump’s First Year in Office
    Notably, hundreds of higher ed leaders added their signatures to a letter from the American Association of Colleges and Universities condemning “unprecedented government overreach” in higher education.
  • University World News \ January 14, 2026
    Ban on Plato Readings Leaves Academics Asking Who’s Next
    Lynn Pasquarella, president of AAC&U, told University World News that “this case is a good illustration of how vague and overbroad policies can have a chilling effect or lead to overcompliance in which administrators err on the side of elimination rather than clarification.”
  • Nature \ January 14, 2026
    Six Steps to Protect Researchers’ Digital Security
    Academics around the world are increasingly under fire. In January 2025, the American Association of Colleges and Universities published a survey that found that 53% of US faculty members were worried that their work would make them targets of harassment.
  • The Hill \ January 7, 2026
    Advocates urge colleges to step up their fight against Trump
    “One of the lessons is that universities should invest in strong legal and policy teams and build contingency plans for sudden retaliatory shifts. I think last year many campus leaders thought if they kept their head down, mind their own business, that they wouldn’t be attacked. But that wasn’t the case,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities.

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