Across the country, colleges and universities are navigating a period of heightened political pressure and uncertainty. Changes in federal policy, public funding priorities, immigration enforcement, and the governance of scientific and academic institutions are reshaping the conditions under which teaching, research, and learning take place.

This Loyola AAUP teach-in offers a space for the university community to pause, reflect, and think together about what these developments may mean for Loyola University Chicago. Rather than reacting in isolation, the event is designed to foster shared understanding across disciplines and ranks—connecting national trends to the lived realities of faculty, students, and staff.

Guided by the AAUP’s commitment to academic freedom, shared governance, and the dignity of academic labor, the teach-in will invite careful analysis, open discussion, and principled engagement. In keeping with Loyola’s Jesuit tradition, the goal is not only to diagnose challenges, but to discern how institutions rooted in intellectual inquiry and care for the whole person can respond faithfully and collectively.