Editorial Note: This article contains information updated as of Feb. 11.
President Donald Trump’s recent barrage of executive orders has put a target on the backs of universities nationwide, with efforts to slash diversity programs and limit federal research grants among the announcements that have shaken up the future of higher education. In the weeks since Jan. 20, Colgate University administrators have carefully navigated a rapidly shifting political landscape of uncertainty, inconsistencies and daily breaking news.
Colgate President Brian W. Casey has gone home nearly every night with a folder, labeled “Washington,” packed with papers outlining relevant government activity that day. Sometimes, he said, it can feel too daunting to read, and the file folder has only gotten thicker since Jan. 20.
He’s not alone. Over the past few weeks, Casey has spoken with other university presidents on the phone “almost daily.”
“It feels very chaotic, and we’re just trying to respond to something that feels like an endlessly moving target,” Casey said.
Part of the chaos includes the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and DEI-related spending within the federal government. Colgate specifically outlines DEI in its Third-Century Plan, which includes a sub-plan for diversity, equity and inclusion last updated in 2021.
While other universities have reworded diversity program names or canceled DEI initiatives altogether, Casey asserted that Colgate will stick with what it’s already promised.
“Our commitment to the principles of the plan have not changed,” Casey said. “I feel really quite strongly about that, and I’ve been on the phone with a lot of trustees about this. The question is, what do you communicate now and in this moment?”
Much of that communication has been informed by recommendations from the Task Force on Institutional Voice, which Casey implemented last fall to determine when the University should administer official statements about national or global issues. The group concluded that the institution and president should only speak on behalf of Colgate when events directly impact the University itself.
“If I responded to everything that was happening in D.C., you would get much of it wrong, because it keeps changing,” Casey said. “You don’t want to communicate in a way that’s unhelpful.”
Casey and Lesleigh Cushing — provost and dean of the faculty and Mark S. Siegel university professor in religion and Jewish studies — ultimately released an email statement Feb. 3, which broadly noted that the University would be closely monitoring the impact of executive orders.
Among the orders mentioned was Trump’s decision to freeze most federal grant money, an action later paused indefinitely by a federal judge. The statement noted that Colgate receives $8 million in federal grants and support, which includes around $3.6 million in active grants that are already owed.
“It is our expectation that current federal research and financial aid funding will continue,” Casey and Cushing wrote in the Feb. 3 statement.
But adding to uncertainty, the National Institutes of Health announced a new policy late Friday, Feb. 7 that would cut billions of dollars in “indirect” research funding, which includes grants to universities, again leaving federal funding up in the air amid legal challenges.
Colgate runs an annual study group in Bethesda, Md., where students typically spend the semester working at NIH. The upcoming Fall 2025 study group will be led by Wan-chun Liu, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences and director of Colgate’s neuroscience program.
The Office of Off-Campus Study is still working to determine whether executive orders or changes at the agency might impact the study group. Joanna Holvey Bowles, Colgate’s director of Off-Campus Study, said that the University does not yet have any information directly from NIH.
“Colgate is moving ahead with our study group preparation in the absence of formal, official communication from our contacts at NIH to the contrary,” Holvey Bowles said. “Unless we hear otherwise, the faculty director continues to monitor the situation and to advise next fall’s student cohort as normal.”
The University is also grappling with potential changes to immigration enforcement, which Trump made a cornerstone of his campaign. Much immigration action, however, falls under the framework of New York state law. Casey said he has been closely following updates from New York Attorney General Letitia James, who recently issued a joint statement with 10 state attorneys general claiming that, based on Supreme Court precedent, local law enforcement should act in compliance with state law rather than federal immigration orders.
State law notes that immigrant status alone is not sufficient reason for federal enforcement agencies to stop and arrest individuals in New York. If a person is retained for other reasons, only then can federal officials intervene should immigration concerns arise.
Colgate has had immigration attorneys on retainer to assist students, faculty and staff with questions since well before the current administration. But in its statements, the University has stopped short of issuing generalized guidance to all international students given the uncertainty and complexities of students’ individual situations.
“I suspect there might be different treatments of people from different countries, which is what happened during the first Trump administration, but I can imagine how this is incredibly distressing for students,” Casey said. “You have to make decisions as to, should I leave for spring break? Should I go home this summer? I think those are incredibly complicated questions.”
Casey plans to visit Washington, D.C., next week to speak with members of Congress from New York state. Amid the discourse, Casey has also made extra effort to interact with students, stopping more frequently by busy areas like the O’Connor Campus Center (Coop).
“I’m trying to take as many meals as I can there,” Casey said. “I think students are aware of the noise coming out of Washington, but just like everyone else, they’re trying to make sense of it.”
