Yale Professor Leaves For Canada Amid Trump Administration's Crackdown On Higher Education

 

Yale philosophy professor Jason Stanley, who has been a fixture at the Ivy League university for 12 years, is leaving for Toronto as the Trump administration continues its battle with higher education in the United States.

As Stanley walked Yale’s campus on Thursday, a group of concerned students stopped him, asking if the rumors were true. Was he really leaving?

“I love Yale,” Stanley reassured them. “But Marci, Tim, and I are going to defend democracy somewhere else,” he said, referring to his colleagues, history professors Marci Shore and Timothy Snyder, who are also heading to Canada.

Stanley’s decision to leave Yale sent shockwaves through the academic world. He cited the Trump administration’s increasing pressure on universities as a major reason for his departure. “Suddenly, if you’re not a U.S. citizen, you can’t comment on politics if you’re a professor? That’s not a free society,” said Stanley, who has authored books such as How Fascism Works and Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future.

The final straw came after Columbia University made sweeping policy changes to prevent the Trump administration from pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. Columbia was the first to experience funding cuts as the administration cracked down on colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism, particularly in response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations during the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

“They’re humiliating the universities, and I don’t see the universities standing up to it,” Stanley remarked.

Now, Stanley, Shore, and Snyder are moving to the University of Toronto, where they say they can continue advocating for democracy and speaking out against authoritarianism without fear of academic institutions capitulating to government pressure.

“The thing about being a historian is that it’s not that you know what will happen, but you know what can happen,” said Shore, who specializes in modern European intellectual history. She and Snyder decided to leave after the 2024 election, and the administration’s actions during its first 100 days solidified their decision.

Shore noted that while not everyone in academia has conformed to government demands, many have, and she fears that university administrations will act in the interest of self-preservation.

While Yale has not directly been targeted, the administration’s actions against other Ivy League institutions serve as a cautionary tale. Earlier this month, the Trump administration paused $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University, citing failure to protect students from antisemitic harassment. In response, Columbia banned face coverings during protests, tightened disciplinary policies, and reviewed Middle East studies curricula.

During his second week in office, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at combating antisemitism in schools, later forming a multiagency task force to root out antisemitic harassment on campuses. Yale and Columbia were among 60 universities that received warnings from the Department of Education about potential consequences for failing to protect Jewish students.

The University of Pennsylvania also faced repercussions, with $175 million in federal funding paused over alleged violations of an executive order barring transgender women from competing in women’s sports. Although Penn maintains compliance with federal guidelines, the administration’s actions have instilled fear among academic institutions nationwide.

“There’s a tremendous amount of money on the line,” said Keith Whittington, a Yale professor and co-founder of the Academic Freedom Alliance. “These are existential threats to universities.”

Whittington warned that if more elite scholars follow in the footsteps of the Yale professors, the long-term impact on American leadership in scientific research and higher education could be significant. “Losing top talent to other countries will weaken our institutions,” he said.

Yale University issued a statement acknowledging the departure of faculty members but reaffirming its commitment to academic excellence. “Yale University has been and continues to be home to world-class faculty members who are dedicated to excellence in scholarship and teaching,” the statement read. “Faculty members make career decisions for a variety of reasons, and the university respects all such decisions.”

For Stanley, the choice to leave was not driven by fear. “I’m not afraid,” he said. “I’d rather spend my energy fighting for democracy than fighting the universities I love. I’ll be in a much better position to stand up to bullies.”