Stand Up for Science plans virtual rally on academic freedom

Stand Up for Science will host a virtual rally Oct. 7 to pressure university leaders to defend academic freedom and back its higher education compact. The event will also add new endorsing organizations and feature academic leaders from SUNY and the group.

Why it matters: - Stand Up for Science is trying to build public pressure on university and college leaders to reject outside control over academic decisions. - The group’s campaign centers on academic freedom, which affects research, teaching and knowledge creation at U.S. institutions. - The rally follows continued fights over federal efforts to influence higher education policy.

What happened: - Stand Up for Science will host an accessible virtual rally on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, from 7-8 p.m. Eastern. - The rally is titled “America’s Compact for Higher Education.” - Scheduled speakers include Bruce Simon, president of the State University of New York University Faculty Senate, and Dr. Colette Delawalla, founder and CEO of Stand Up for Science. - The event is open to the public and to members of the press. - Registration is available here. - The rally will include ASL interpretation and multi-language automatic captioning.

The details: - Stand Up for Science will announce new endorsing organizations for “America’s Compact for Higher Education” during the rally. - The compact was drafted in September 2026 with academic leaders and Nobel Laureates. - The effort was created in response to the Department of Education’s attempts to install policy changes at U.S. universities. - The compact lays out terms and conditions for academic freedom and independence across colleges and universities in the U.S. - Stand Up for Science is asking the public to read the compact and use its embedded tool to send it to college and university leaders. - The group says it wants those leaders to endorse the compact. - Stand Up for Science is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit formed in February 2025 in response to actions affecting federal science agencies and funding. - The organization says it mobilized more than 50,000 people at 170-plus events worldwide on its first National Day of Action on March 7. - Federal scientists across NIH, EPA, NASA and FEMA have used Stand Up for Science as a platform to publish open letters of concern. - The group is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, and donations are not tax-deductible.

Between the lines: - The compact is both a policy statement and an organizing tool, aimed at turning academic freedom into a campus-level pledge. - The timing, one week after the anniversary of the Department of Education’s first attempted Higher Ed Compact, signals a deliberate effort to keep pressure on the issue. - By centering endorsements from university leaders and academic groups, Stand Up for Science is trying to make institutional support visible and harder to ignore.

What’s next: - Stand Up for Science plans to use the rally to expand endorsements for the compact. - The group is encouraging college and university leaders to review the compact and commit to it. - The virtual event may serve as a new organizing step in the broader fight over higher education governance.