STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS FLEEING FROM VIOLENCE AND HUMANITARIAN CRISES

Sign-On Opportunity for Institutional and Organizational Leaders

The war in Ukraine and the resulting humanitarian crisis have accelerated a call to action by colleges and universities to support refugees and displaced students worldwide. We strongly condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has not only caused thousands of civilian deaths and forced millions of Ukrainians to flee, but also has led thousands of Russians to seek safety from their repressive regime, including those in academia. While the tragedy is acute in Ukraine, unfortunately it is not unique to that country. Students, academics, and their families from numerous countries throughout the world continue to seek refuge and relief while international students and scholars attending U.S. universities and colleges struggle to make ends meet and keep up their studies while their home countries are in turmoil. We express solidarity with all of these impacted students and scholars currently on our campuses and stand eager to welcome scholars and enroll additional students seeking education and safety.

We support our nation doing more to relieve the plight of those impacted by events beyond their control. We applaud the administration for implementing policies that ensure that students and scholars from impacted countries are provided key lifesaving and educational protections. We urge the administration to advance policies that are inclusive, equitable, and durable:

  • Make visas available to displaced international students and scholars who qualify to come here, and ensure regulatory processes support them during their stay here.

  • Move quickly to launch broader scale private sponsorship of refugees, including university sponsorship of refugee students, by using the new P-4 category in refugee admissions.

These measures are an opportunity for the United States to stand by its values and will significantly expand the United States’ humanitarian reach by enabling U.S. colleges and universities to play a key role in accelerating displaced and refugee students’ higher education access and success. We in higher education stand ready to meet this moment to address the urgent challenges facing fleeing and displaced students and scholars.

First Name Last Name Title Institution City State
Carmen Ambar President Oberlin College Oberlin OH
David Anderson President St. Olaf College Northfield MN
Claudia Araiza Chancellor Southern States University San Diego CA
William Armaline Director SJSU Human Rights Institute San Jose CA
Kelli Armstrong President Salve Regina University Newport RI
Steve Bahls President Augustana College Rock Island IL
Irma Becerra President Marymount University Arlington VA
Allan Belton President Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma WA
Esther Benjamin CEO & Executive Director World Education Services, Inc. New York NY
Dr. Joanne Berger-Sweeney President Trinity College Hartford CT
Joe Bertolino President Southern Connecticut State University New Haven CT
Audrey Bilger President Reed College Portland OR
Erik Bitterbaum President SUNY Cortland Cortland NY
Anne Blackhurst President Minnesota State University Moorhead Moorhead MN
Brock Blomberg President California Institute of Integral Studies San Francisco CA
Leon Botstein President Bard College Annandale-on-Hudson NY
Leon Botstein President Bard College Annandale-on-Hudson NY
Jonathan Brand President Cornell College Mount Vernon IA
Esther Brimmer Executive Director & CEO NAFSA: Association of International Educators Washington D.C.
John Bunting Principal Senior Lecturer Georgia State University Tucker GA
Alison Byerly President Carleton College Northfield MN
Nancy Cantor Chancellor and Distinguished Professor Rutgers University-Newark Newark NJ
Karen Carey Chancellor University of Alaska Southeast Auke Bay AK
Ana Mari Cauce President University of Washington Seattle WA
anthony cernera President Being the Blessing Foundation Fairfield CT
Terrence Cheng President Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Hartford CT
Carol Christ Chancellor UC Berkeley Berkeley CA
E. LaBrent Chrite President Bentley University Waltham MA
Bryan Coker President Maryville College Maryville TN
Bryan Coker President Maryville College Maryville TN
Soraya Coley President California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Pomona CA
Shirley M. Collado, Ph.D. President & CEO College Track Oakland CA
Joe Coon Interim President Niskanen Center Washington D.C.
Isiaah Crawford President University of Puget Sound Tacoma WA
Raymond Crossman President Adler University Chicago IL
Michael Crow President Arizona State University Tempe AZ
Jose Luis Cruz Rivera President Northern Arizona University Flagstaff AZ
Glenn Cummings President University of Southern Maine Portland ME
James Danko President Butler University Indianapolis IN
Janine Davidson President Metropolitan State University, Denver Denver CO
James W. Dean, Jr. President University of New Hampshire Durham NH
Darla Deardorff Executive Director Association of International Education Administrators Durham NC
John J. DeGioia President Georgetown University Washington D.C.
Cheryl Delk-Le Good Executive Director EnglishUSA Atlanta GA
James Dlugos President Saint Joseph's College of Maine Standish ME
Michael V. Drake, MD President University of California System Oakland CA
Noelle E Cockett President Utah State University Logan UT
Raj Echambadi President Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago IL
Elisa Edmondson Director Ashinaga USA New York NY
Mark Erickson President Northampton Community College Bethlehem PA
A. Gabriel Esteban President DePaul University Chicago IL
Edward Feasel President Soka University of America Aliso Viejo CA
Miriam Feldblum Executive Director Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration Washington D.C.
Jane Fernandes President Antioch College Yellow Springs OH
Jane K. Fernandes President Antioch College Yellow Springs OH
David Finegold President Chatham University Pittsburgh PA
Dr. Carol Folt President University of Southern California Los Angeles CA
Lisa Freeman President Northern Illinois University DeKalb IL
John Fry President Drexel University Philadelphia AL
Montserrat Fuentes President St. Edward's University Austin TX
Howard Gillman Chancellor University of California, Irvine Irvine CA
Jonathan Goldman Executive Director Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice Boston MA
Bryon Grigsby President Moravian University Bethlehem PA
Gregory Haile President Broward College Ft Lauderdale FL
Andrew Hamilton President New York University New York NY
Antoinette Hays President Regis College Weston MA
Becca Heller Executive Director International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) New York NY
Sue Henderson President New Jersey City University Jersey City NJ
Elizabeth Hillman President Mills College Oakland CA
Dan Hocoy President Goddard College Plainfield VT
Samuel Hoi President Maryland Institute College of Art Baltimore MD
Dr. Mayme Hostetter President Relay Graduate School of Education New York NY
Sophia Howlett President School for International Training Brattleboro VT
Deneece Huftalin President Salt Lake Community College Salt Lake City UT
Glenda Humiston Vice President University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Oakland CA
Robert Huntington President Heidelberg University TIFFIN OH
John Jones III President Dickinson College Carlisle PA
Cristle Collins Judd President Sarah Lawrence College Yonkers NY
Mary Ellen Jukoski President Three Rivers Community College East Lyme CT
Linda Kaminski President Yakima Valley College Yakima WA
Erol Kekic Senior Vice President, Programs Church World Service New York NY
Marisa Kelly President Suffolk University Boston MA
Renu Khator Chancellor/President University of Houston Houston TX
John Knapp President Washington & Jefferson College Washington PA
Marvin Krislov President Pace University New York NY
Cynthia Larive Chancellor University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz CA
Paul LeBlanc President SNHU Manchester NH
Arien Mack Director New University in Exile Consortium NEW YORK NY
Ali R. Malekzadeh, Ph.D. President Roosevelt University Chicago IL
Sarah Mangelsdorf President University of Rochester Rochester NY
Philomena Mantella President Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids MI
Biddy Martin President Amherst College Amherst MA
Mike Martin President Florida Gulf Coast University Ft Myers FL
Felix Matos Rodriguez Chancellor City University of New York (CUNY) New York NY
Gary S. May Chancellor University of California, Davis Davis CA
Dwight A. McBride President The New School New York NY
Kathleen McCartney President Smith College Northampton MA
Joyce McConnell President Colorado State University Fort Collins CO
Patricia McGuire President Trinity Washington University Washington D.C.
Maurie McInnis President Stony Brook University Stony Brook NY
Belinda Miles President Westchester Community College Valhalla NY
Judy Miner Chancellor Foothill-De Anza Community College District Los Altos Hills CA
Sam Minner President New Mexico Highlands University Las Vegas NM
Anthony E. Munroe President Borough of Manhattan Community College-CUNY New York NY
David Munson President Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester NY
Kathleen Murray President Whitman College Walla Walla WA
Robert Nelsen President Sacramento State Sacramento CA
Robert Nelsen President California State University, Sacramento Sacramento CA
Krista Newkirk President University of Redlands Redlands CA
John Nicklow President University of New Orleans New Orleans LA
Elsa Núñez President Eastern Connecticut State University Willimantic CT
Dr. Maureen O'Connor President Palo Alto University Palo Alto CA
Eduardo J. Padron President Emeritus Miami Dade College Miami FL
Laurie L. Patton President Middlebury College Middlebury VT
Daniel Phelan President & CEO Jackson College Jackson MI
David Podell President Massachusetts Bay Community College Wellesley MA
Martha E. Pollack President Cornell University Ithaca NY
Susan Poser President Hofstra University Hempstead NY
David Potash President Wilbur Wright College Chicago IL
Katrina Powell Director Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies Blacksburg VA
Avis Proctor President William Rainey Harper College Palatine IL
Taylor Randall President University of Utah Salt Lake City UT
Sabah Randhawa President Western Washington University Bellingham WA
Wendy Raymond President Haverford College Haverford PA
Shai Reshef President University of the People Pasadena CA
Havidan Rodriguez President University at Albany, SUNY Albany NY
Todd Saliman President University of Colorado System Denver CO
Kim Schatzel, Ph.D. President Towson University Towson MD
Margit Schatzman President Educational Credential Evaluators Milwaukee WI
Michael H. Schill President University of Oregon Eugene OR
Brian Shanley President St. John's University Queens NY
Lisa Skari President Mt. Hood Community College Gresham OR
Neal Smatresk President University of North Texas Denton TX
James Smith President Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti MI
Eric F. Spina President University of Dayton Dayton OH
G. Gabrielle Starr President Pomona College Claremont CA
Diane Steele, SCL President University of Saint Mary Leavenworth KS
Sonya Stephens President Mount Holyoke College South Hadley MA
Amy Storey President Keuka College Keuka Park NY
Marcelo Suarez-Orozco Chancellor University of Massacusetts Boston Boston MA
Kumble Subbaswamy Chancellor University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA
Msgr. Stuart Swetland President Donnelly College Kansas City KS
John Sygielski President HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College Harrisburg PA
Jennie Ta President California Institute of Advanced Management Alhambra CA
Minh-Hoa Ta President University of the West Rosemead CA
Larry Thompson President Ringling College of Art and De SARASOTA FL
Quint Thurman President University of the Southwest Hobbs NM
Dr. Denise Trauth President Texas State University San Marcos TX
Matthew Turk President Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago Chicago IL
Joyce Vining Morgan Founder (retired) Educational Transitions Brattleboro VT
Robbyn Wacker President St Cloud State University Saint Cloud MN
Kenneth Warren President Educational Perspectives, nfp Chicago IL
Gregory Washington President George Mason University Fairfax VA
Michaele Whelan President Wheaton College Norton MA
Lori S. White President DePauw University Greencastle IN
Wim Wiewel President Lewis & Clark College Portland OR
Kim A. Wilcox Chancellor University of California, Riverside Riverside CA
M. Roy Wilson President Wayne State University Detroit MI
A. James Wohlpart President Central Washington University Ellensburg WA
Henry Yang Chancellor University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA