AAUP-Penn teach-in emphasizes next steps following Penn's rejection of Trump compact

Around 40 Penn faculty and community members gathered for a teach-in hosted by the University's chapter of the American Association of University Professors on Oct. 17 to protest what they described as federal overreach in the White House’s proposed preferential funding compact.

The Friday event took place in front of the Annenberg School for Communication one day after Penn announced that it would not sign the compact. During the demonstration, AAUP-Penn members emphasized that the University's rejection of the compact was only the “beginning” and argued that the White House would continue “exerting pressure” on Penn.

Jessa Lingel — a professor at the Annenberg School and president of AAUP-Penn — told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the event was organized “in solidarity” with the other universities that were offered the compact, and that AAUP-Penn members are “very relieved” that Penn has rejected the compact.

“This teach-in is really about celebrating the win of AAUP-Penn’s work, and put pressure on the administration to do the right thing and also to think about next steps and how to hold Penn accountable to its values,” Lingel stated.

During the teach-in’s opening remarks, speakers emphasized the negative consequences of tying federal funding to ideological conditions. They added that while Penn made the right decision, the federal pressures that led to the compact’s introduction could continue.

“We fought for institutional integrity, and now we have to prepare for the temporary financial political challenges that may follow,” Lingel said at the teach-in. “This is why our organizing efforts cannot stop. We must maintain a unified front to show that this decision was not just administrative, but a deep institutional commitment.”

The iteration of the White House proposal that Penn rejected would have required the University to define gender based solely on reproductive biology, restrict diversity and identity-based academic programs, and subject faculty governance decisions to federal review as a condition for retaining research funding.

Gwendolyn Beetham, associate director of the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies program, told the DP that these stipulations were incompatible with established academic research.

“Defining gender as woman and man according to reproductive function and biological processes flies in the face of over a century of academic scholarship,” Beetham said. “It asks us to ignore rigorous research in favor of a definition that is based neither in science nor reality.”

Pennsylvania state Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia) and Rep. Rick Krajewski (D-Philadelphia), a 2013 Engineering graduate, both spoke at the event, framing Penn’s rejection as part of a broader struggle over academic freedom across the country.

“I’m very proud to stand here in celebration, albeit in a qualified, circumspect way the power of this victory,” Saval said. “I’m clear that this is one moment of a larger fight that will require all of us moving together in solidarity.” 

Krajewski described Penn’s rejection of the compact as a “victory” for AAUP-Penn, students, and workers but stated that the Trump administration was a “bully” that will continue to threaten and punish universities. 

“This was us showing that you can't just march into Philadelphia,” Krajewski added. “You can’t just march into our campus and tell us what to do.”

Speakers stressed that continued organizing will be necessary in anticipation of federal retaliation and broader political pressure on universities, urging attendees to remain engaged in campus governance and labor efforts. 

“Our hope is that we will continue to mobilize, continue to work as a community, and just make sure that we are working at a university we can be proud of,” Lingel said.

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