We write as faculty, students, and staff across the University of Pittsburgh—united with you by a shared belief in education, discovery, and service, and in our mission to advance knowledge, improve lives, and uphold the values that define this institution. This letter summarizes the fallout resulting from an abrupt shift in the federal government’s relationship with academic higher education and outlines joint efforts to protect, preserve, and advance our mission.

Since late January, government officials who have publicly denounced universities as “the enemy” and pledged to “aggressively attack” them have acted at a scale and speed few thought possible. Although these developments are well documented and far-reaching, we focus here on three core concerns: 1) the revocation of visas and other actions that have created fear and uncertainty among foreign national employees and trainees, as recently outlined by Provost McCarthy; 2) the abrupt termination of over 1,600 federal research and training grants—including several at Pitt—all of which were deemed meritorious just months ago but have since been withdrawn, often with claims that the work was “unscientific;” and 3) the targeting of academic centers through sudden federal funding cuts, typically with explicit political motivation and without clear recourse.

In this ominous time, we—faculty, students, deans, chancellors, provosts, staff, and alumni—must stand together and remind ourselves, and the nation, what universities like Pitt have made possible. From vitamin C and insulin to television, the Salk polio vaccine, and organ transplantation—some of the world’s most transformative breakthroughs began at Pitt. That legacy is now under threat. And in the face of these continued assaults, only a unified voice from across our community and its leadership can preserve and advance the good we do for Pittsburgh, our state, the country, and the world. But preservation is not enough. We must also come together to build something better. If we are to dispel the forces working to discredit our institutions, the academic environment we defend must also evolve.

Through this letter, we reaffirm Pitt’s shared values and enduring principles: the pursuit of knowledge; academic freedom; self-governance; and inclusion—regardless of race, ethnicity, class, nationality, immigration status, religion, disability, gender, gender identity/expression, or sexual orientation. Accordingly, we propose working with University Leadership—who are part of our academic family—to carry out the following joint efforts:

1. Protect our campus: Issue clear, centralized guidelines to safeguard university spaces from improper immigration-related raids. We appreciate Provost McCarthy’s message from April 9 and look forward to partnering with leadership on transparent, coordinated steps to protect our community. These guidelines should be posted on Pitt’s website and accompanied by open discussions on legal protections for trainees and international scholars.

2. Defend our research: Clearly communicate a campus-wide process for appealing unjust federal grant terminations, particularly when the termination letter includes a right to appeal. Currently, guidance is uneven and often contradictory across departments. We need a clear, consistent, and centralized response from senior research leadership, as is standard for typical grant submissions.

3. Prevent a funding crisis: Commit to the university’s mission by avoiding layoffs and financial exigency in 2025–2026 through bridge funding, fundraising, and strategic use of endowment resources. Multiple research programs have been upended by abrupt grant terminations simply because their science is now seen as politically inconvenient. To adapt, we also need institutional leadership to help expand our funding model beyond the traditional federal sources that have long underpinned academic research—cultivating new opportunities in industry, foundation, and philanthropic grants, and ensuring these avenues are accessible to all. Finally, we must commit to strong institutional support for trainees and early-stage faculty by safeguarding their career development and mentoring them in diversifying their funding portfolios.

To achieve these goals, we propose forming a University Crisis Task Force—a cross-functional unit that includes students, faculty, alumni, and others—to implement these efforts and respond to evolving challenges, as we did through the COVID-19 Task Force. We also request a meeting with university leadership within the next week to discuss these steps. We know—and trust—that signing or supporting this letter will be met with respect, not retaliation, because it affirms our shared purpose and commitment to the university we all serve. Pitt’s legacy lives in our classrooms and clinics, our labs and libraries, our values and our people. Let us stand together now to protect it and to build what comes next. Time is not on our side, but solidarity is.

Sincerely, [SIGNATORIES]