COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio State's University Senate Faculty Council voted to join a Big Ten alliance to respond to any "legal, financial and political" attacks from President Donald Trump's administration.
Faculty Council voted 35-11 in a special meeting on Thursday to join the Mutual Academic Defense Compact, a coalition of schools in the Big Ten Academic Alliance. The MADC seeks to encourage action against perceived attacks on academic freedom. Faculty Senate Chair Sara Watson said the group had a thorough conversation, agreeing to sign with a few small changes.
"We then had a very thoughtful discussion about the resolution itself," Watson said. "One of the questions that came up was about the scope of the resolution. Here the question was: 'Why ask just Big Ten institutions to work collaboratively, why not make a broader call for collaboration?'"
With 46 of the 71 faculty senators in attendance, Watson said the conversation moved toward a broader call to action and the council opted to add some language to the resolution. Under Ohio State's resolution, Faculty Council urges university President Ted Carter to not only establish the MADC, but a larger coalition of any other universities willing to work on the issue.
The movement began at Rutgers and invited participation from faculty groups from all 18 universities in the Big Ten Academic Alliance. The MADC aims to be a coalition of resources where a threat to funding or programs at one school can rely on the support of many. OSU now joins Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Indiana, Rutgers and Washington in the alliance.
"The preservation of one institution's integrity is the concern of all, and an infringement against one member university of the Big Ten shall be considered an infringement against all," the founding resolution reads.
Big Ten faculty senates have varying levels of authority. Ohio State's is part of the larger University Senate, which helps the university function but cannot dictate how university legal resources or funds are used without support from administrators or the Board of Trustees. Instead, these resolutions urge action from higher administrators.
"Faculty leaders are now working to schedule a conversation with President Carter and Provost Bellamkonda to discuss constructive steps for moving forward," Watson said.
The Big Ten Academic Alliance has 18 universities, and Ohio State is the seventh to vote to join the MADC. University of Minnesota faculty are also meeting Thursday to determine if they will become the eight signatory.
The move comes the same week at least six other Ohio university presidents signed a letter formally condemning Trump's "overreach" in higher education. Carter was not among the signatories. See previous coverage of this letter in the video player above.
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