@gregggonsalves.bsky.social
Epidemiologist. AIDS Activist. Dog lover. New Haven.
More are united around a simple message: RFK Jr should not be HHS Sec. His decisions undermine our public health capacity and put lives and health at risk.
As 6 former Surgeon Generals argue:
"He has rejected science, misled the public and compromised the health of Americans."
🎁
wapo.st/3VTALll
I thought I'd put the administration's proposed "compact" with universities in context, so I wrote the blog post below.
It's especially for journalists covering this story!
Many details about how the compact itself works and why the administration has retreated to this strategy.
A happy Dolly Parton reads books aloud to happy kids
PRAY FOR DOLLY PARTON ❤️🩹
Freida Parton, sister of Dolly Parton, asks for prayers for Dolly’s health. She says with prayers she know Dolly is going to be just fine.
We all love you, Dolly! Praying 💛
people.com/dolly-parton-sister-was-up-all-night-praying-for-singer-amid-health-struggles-11826073
@gregggonsalves.bsky.social
Thought you might want to see this if you have not already.
newrepublic.com/article/2013...
I wrote about the “compact” for higher education
newrepublic.com/article/2013...
A magnificent tour force from @sivav.bsky.social.
Can we make sure that Paul Mahoney and every member of the Board of Visitors reads it?
Siva Vaidhyanathan: "Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down" newrepublic.com/article/2013... via @newrepublic.com
07.10.2025 15:35 — 👍 18 🔁 8 💬 0 📌 0
“Any university leader who signs on to this compact wld betray everything good and solid about the university & would do deep and permanent harm to the United States & the world.”
Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down newrepublic.com/article/2013... via @newrepublic.com
#highered @wearehighered.bsky.social
07.10.2025 11:24 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
And Robert Post and Tom Ginsburg's piece here, if you haven't seen it. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
07.10.2025 10:35 — 👍 10 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
And now @acls1919.bsky.social speaks out. Just. Say. No. To Trump's compact on higher ed. It's extortion plain and simple. www.acls.org/news/acls-st...
07.10.2025 10:26 — 👍 186 🔁 70 💬 1 📌 5
The indirect cost issue had demonstrated that pushing back works. The administration lost lawsuits, and Congress reasserted its authorities to determine indirect cost rate policies. Some individuals and groups did sue the government over the diversity and other grant terminations and won in the court of William Young, a veteran judge first appointed by Ronald Reagan. Judge Young ruled that the terminations were illegal and, in addition, made a powerful speech calling out what he saw as the worst discrimination he had witnessed in over 40 years on the bench. This ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court which ruled that these terminations were likely illegal but then stayed Judge Young’s order that the grants be reinstated, in a fragmented 5-4, shadow docket ruling that even Supreme Court justices called out as being nakedly partisan. The final outcomes for these grants remain uncertain.
7/14
06.10.2025 23:27 — 👍 15 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0
In communicating with some of the scientists affected by grant terminations, it was striking (but not surprising) that many felt abandoned by their institutions and the scientific establishment at large. This was fueled, in part, by the contrast between this acquiescence and the rapid institutional responses, including lawsuits, after the administration had proposed a cap on the rate of reimbursement for so-called indirect costs of research. The scientific establishment had the capacity to push back vigorously when some of their values (financial viability) were threatened but could not seem to muster much energy when other principles were under assault.
6/14
06.10.2025 23:27 — 👍 16 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 2
The programs had very broad eligibility criteria that included being a member of a racial or ethnic group that was historically underrepresented in research, but eligibility also included those from disadvantaged educational or socioeconomic backgrounds and those with a physical disability or other factors, or just an interest in working on the biomedical workforce. These grants were not awarded through illegal, “racial preference” programs, but rather through highly competitive, merit-based processes. But rather than articulating and defending these goals and processes, many parts of the scientific establishment seemed to be rushing to violate one of the first tenets of historian Timothy Snyder’s important book On Tyranny: Do not obey in advance.
5/14
06.10.2025 23:27 — 👍 18 🔁 7 💬 1 📌 0
Early on, I was deeply troubled to learn that many grants awarded through NIH mechanisms related to “diversity” were slated for wholesale termination. I saw stunning reactions from many in the scientific establishment. Universities, scientific societies, and private funding agencies rapidly took down webpages with statements about the importance of diversity and representation in the scientific workforce, and some cancelled programs; others just remained silent or rebranded such programs with new language. I found this distressing because these programs are not motivated by vague “social justice” goals, but rather with specific objectives related to engaging scientific talent from across our nation, diversification of perspectives on research questions, and, in some cases, building capacity to understand and address health disparities.
4/14
06.10.2025 23:27 — 👍 20 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 2
It is not that I fail to understand the pressures such leaders face. I have served as a department chair at a major medical school, director of one of the NIH institutes, Editor-in-Chief of Science magazine, and as in a strategic leadership position at a major university. I recognize the risk that standing up for core principles might trigger retribution. But remaining quiet is, in my view, misguided. Silence may protect an institution from becoming an early target, but history shows that it increases the likelihood that that institution (and many others) will be become targets over time.
3/14
06.10.2025 23:27 — 👍 19 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 0
Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment When the new administration came into power, I expected contentious discussions about specific policy issues, and the possibility of reorganizations and budget cuts at science agencies. However, I did not fully anticipate the disruption of time-tested grant review processes, mass termination of grants based on political considerations, large-scale firing of government staff without cause, and other assaults on science that have taken place. I also did not expect the striking silence from leaders of the scientific establishment.
2/14
06.10.2025 23:27 — 👍 20 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 1I have been trying to get this published as an op-ed, but I am going to post it here since I think it is timely in light of the "consent" extortion events.
Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment
jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...
1/14
Our new paper on extreme heat and overdose across the United States. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
07.10.2025 10:10 — 👍 25 🔁 8 💬 1 📌 2A terrific piece from two of our country's leading experts on the first amendment, academic freedom and free speech.
07.10.2025 09:45 — 👍 42 🔁 13 💬 1 📌 0
A Compact for Control:
No self-respecting institution of higher education should accept the Trump administration’s unconstitutional terms, Robert Post and Tom Ginsburg write.
@yalelawschool-yls.bsky.social @uchicagolaw.bsky.social
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
An important statement from #MIT faculty on Trump’s compact. #JustSayNo @nancykanwisher.bsky.social
07.10.2025 00:17 — 👍 110 🔁 31 💬 2 📌 0
What Americans Die from?
And what the media reports on...
Our World in Data ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...
“No one man can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices.” -Edward R. Murrow
06.10.2025 17:01 — 👍 21933 🔁 6765 💬 383 📌 217Danielle Allen's piece is unhelpful. It assumes the White House/Congress are good-faith partners, but also genuflects to conservative criticisms to establish her own bona fides as a bridge builder, someone the White House can deal with. It is deeply misguided, naive and troubling.
06.10.2025 21:50 — 👍 34 🔁 6 💬 2 📌 1Got my PhD in epidemiology at 54 (my BA at 48). Became a professor at 55.
06.10.2025 21:08 — 👍 36 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Another week, the GOP's shutdown continues. No surrender. Stand firm on protecting public health, healthcare and research. Write to your Senators now. actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...
06.10.2025 20:12 — 👍 82 🔁 24 💬 2 📌 1
Oh dear god, Marc Rowan, billionaire behind Trump‘s compact with higher education has a seriously shady past. A private equity vulture preying on hospitals and other institutions. The @prospect.org reports. prospect.org/power/2023-1...
06.10.2025 00:14 — 👍 97 🔁 37 💬 5 📌 5Why billionaires? Like Russia, the US is quickly moving towards a oligarchy where those in power and those with lots of money merge. The parallels, there are many, are trully frightening.
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The Billionaire Behind Trump’s Deal for Universities
The conservative ideas behind the Trump administration’s “compact” for universities were developed in part by Marc Rowan, a wealthy financier who has sought to shape higher education.
www.nytimes.com/2025...
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