SUNY faculty bodies back higher-ed compact defending academic freedom

Stand Up for Science says two system-wide SUNY governance bodies have endorsed America’s Compact for Higher Education, a proposal pitched as an alternative to the Education Department’s Compact 2.0. The endorsements add institutional weight to a national campaign centered on academic freedom, public trust and university independence.

Why it matters: - The endorsement from SUNY’s two system-wide faculty governance bodies broadens support for America’s Compact for Higher Education inside one of the country’s largest public university systems. - The Compact is framed as a defense of academic freedom, shared governance and the public value of higher education at a moment of pressure on universities. - Stand Up for Science is using the Compact to push colleges and governance bodies to publicly reject what it describes as increased ideological control.

What happened: - Stand Up for Science announced that the SUNY University Faculty Senate and the SUNY Faculty Council of Community Colleges signed on as endorsers of America’s Compact for Higher Education. - The two bodies represent SUNY’s 64 schools. - The announcement came Oct. 26, 2026. - Stand Up for Science published America’s Compact in September 2026 as an alternative to the Department of Education’s Compact 2.0.

The details: - America’s Compact lays out basic agreements around absolute academic freedom, knowledge, safety and trust at U.S. universities and colleges. - Bruce Simon, president of the SUNY University Faculty Senate, said higher education strengthens individuals, families, communities, the economy, civil society and democracy. - Simon also said faculty and staff should defend “the unbought and unbossed pursuit of knowledge, truth, and wisdom for the public good.” - Candice Vacin, president of the SUNY Faculty Council of Community Colleges, said academic freedom is a public good that protects difficult inquiry, challenges assumptions and helps students think critically and independently. - Vacin said the SUNY council represents faculty across SUNY’s 30 community colleges. - Vacin said protecting the independence of colleges and universities is inseparable from protecting the communities they serve. - Stand Up for Science said it drafted the Compact with academic leaders and Nobel Laureates. - The group said it created the document in response to the Education Department’s efforts to install more ideological control at U.S. universities. - Stand Up for Science said the public can read the Compact and use an embedded tool to send it to university leaders and urge endorsement. - Dr. Colette Delawalla, founder and CEO of Stand Up for Science, said the Compact is “not about ideology” but about safety, public trust, academic freedom and the value of knowledge. - The SUNY bodies join other endorsers including the American Association of Colleges & Universities, the American Association of University Professors, the Alliance for Higher Education and the American Federation of Teachers.

Between the lines: - The endorsement gives the Compact added credibility because it comes from governance bodies, not just advocacy groups. - The campaign is trying to turn academic freedom into a broad, public-facing organizing message rather than an internal faculty issue. - The language in the release puts the Compact in direct opposition to federal higher-education policy efforts under the current administration.

What's next: - Stand Up for Science is urging more higher-education governance bodies and unions to sign on. - The organization is inviting the public to circulate the Compact to university leaders and press for additional endorsements. - Delawalla is available for comment.