Bowdoin College President Safa Zaki speaks at Morrell Lounge on the Brunswick college’s campus in March 2023. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Four Maine higher education leaders have signed on to a letter accusing the Trump administration of “unprecedented government overreach and political interference.”

Safa Zaki of Bowdoin College, Garry Jenkins of Bates College, David Greene of Colby College and James Herbert of the University of New England all added their names to the letter, published Tuesday by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. More than 230 presidents of colleges, universities and scholarly societies throughout the country have signed so far.

“We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight,” the letter reads. “However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live and work on our campuses. We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding.”

Bates College President Garry Jenkins mimes opening doors with the symbolic keys of the office during his inauguration ceremony in May 2024. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Though the letter primarily represents private institutions, leaders from a handful of state colleges and universities signed on, including University of Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes and Eastern Connecticut State University President Karim Ismaili. A spokesperson for the University of Maine system declined to comment.

In recent months, the Trump administration has pulled or threatened to pull federal funding from higher education institutions that don’t comply with his agenda on student protesters, admissions practices and transgender athlete policies.

The administration has also revoked the visas of hundreds of international students. On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine filed a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies behind the visa revocations, asking that a judge restore the visas of any New England students who have had them wrongfully removed, and protecting future students from the same actions.

In Tuesday’s letter, the colleges argue they should be places of open inquiry where faculty, staff and students can exchange ideas and share different viewpoints, “without fear of retribution, censorship or deportation.”

The letter ends with a call for an end to the current federal interference.

“The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society,” it reads. “On behalf of our current and future students, and all who work at and benefit from our institutions, we call for constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.”

Greene, president of Colby, said that although national attention has focused on a handful of high-profile institutions targeted by the administration, the threat of sanctions carries massive consequences for nearly all the country’s colleges and universities.

“Great harm could come to colleges and universities small and large, urban and rural, in red states and blue, if the government moves away from being a vital partner in supporting access to higher education and the groundbreaking research that fuels America’s innovation economy,” Greene said in a written statement. “Like Democracy itself, America’s universities are imperfect, yet no system of higher education in the world comes close to matching the intellectual richness and contributions of the one which we enjoy in this country.”

Colby College President David Greene stands on the stage of the main performance hall at the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts at Colby College in Waterville in August 2023. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

In an email Tuesday afternoon, Doug Cook, Bowdoin’s director of communications, said, “President Zaki is going to let the letter speak for itself.”

A UNE spokesperson said Herbert also “believes the letter speaks for itself, and he has nothing further to add at this time.”

A Bates spokesperson referred questions to a statement on the college’s website, which acknowledged Jenkins signing on but did not provide additional details.

The letter comes as the Trump administration has targeted the funding of a number of colleges and universities, demanding policy changes to bring campuses in line with the federal government’s agenda.

University of New England President James Herbert in November 2024. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Harvard University on Monday sued the Trump administration for attempting to withhold more than $2 billion in grants after the school refused to agree to changes proposed in a letter the administration sent April 11. Those demands included suspending certain student organizations and sweeping changes to admissions policies.

Weeks earlier, Columbia University faced sharp criticism for acquiescing to policy changes that included adopting a new definition of antisemitism and pursuing with the administration calls “intellectual diversity” on campus.

Both Harvard and Columbia’s presidents signed the letter Tuesday.

New signatures were continuously added to the letter throughout Tuesday evening. Other signatories represent colleges from California to Kalamazoo, including all but one member of the Ivy League as of 6 p.m.