"What now" & what’s next in science and higher ed

This newsletter is my part of an ongoing conversation among colleagues who’ve had a rough week. I share two or three pieces of the puzzle that feel the most important, hazard a guess about what to expect next, and offer at least one useful thing to do.

MEETING THE MOMENT: 2025-06-13

Hello friends,

In April, we launched our Scientists in Solidarity Action Hours. Our first action was simple: a personal commitment. We pledged “to show up to protect the rights, safety, and dignity of people in my community.”

I remember being worried about whether it was enough… while also being worried that we needed to work harder to explain and justify taking this action. Maybe, I thought, we needed to write an explainer about the psychology of making an oath, or better, the social dynamics of seeing others take a public stance. But as we head into this weekend, all I can think about is how I’m so grateful that we started simply and we started with that pledge. I am grateful because it took my concern for the well-being of people around me and turned it into a promise. I will not sit numb and silent. Where I can, as I can, I will protect and I will resist. This is not about the things we’re fighting against: it’s what and who we’re fighting for.

Let’s talk about them. This was week 21.

What’s happening now

• Every one of the seventeen members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was removed from their post on Monday, despite assurances that this specifically would not occur. This independent body of doctors and researchers advises the CDC on which vaccines should be recommended for Americans, including how much, to whom, and when. On Thursday, the administration appointed eight new members to ACIP. The American Medical Association has criticized the new members as insufficiently vetted and issued an emergency resolution, which calls for a Senate investigation, among other things. Now, it is true that ACIP is just one of several key external committees, it does not license vaccines (that’s the job of the FDA), and its recommendations to the director of the CDC may be modified or overridden. However, the concern is that insurance coverage of vaccines is closely tied to ACIP recommendations, meaning that people will likely have to start paying even more to protect their health. As our spending power drops and the possibility of debt default is raised, this is the last thing we need.
• The AMA are not the only ones speaking up. In a Nature editorial this month, Peter Gleick writes, “History tells us that there are times when the dangers of inaction become sufficiently threatening… scientists who are able and willing to do so will have to enter the public arena... This is such a time.” This week, 336 NIH employees, representing every institute and center, formalized their dissent in the Bethesda Declaration. 92 of them put their jobs on the line by signing openly, citing the examples of now-ousted NIH leaders like Larry Tabak, Mike Lauer, Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, Shannon Zenk, and Diana Bianchi. Their open letter, now co-signed by nearly 25,000 colleagues and allies, repudiates administration actions that undermine the NIH mission, waste resources, and endanger the health of people everywhere. An agency-wide, public denunciation is a huge departure from existing norms. I hope it expands the scope of what seems possible for others who have been feeling constrained.

What’s next & what to do

This weekend, millions of people across the country will be rallying and marching in the No Kings Day of Defiance. Almost 2,000 formal events are already planned, and by escalating arrests and violence this week, the government has only created more momentum.

These are very likely to be the largest mobilizations we’ve seen in years. There are so many reasons to go if you can. There are so many reasons it may NOT be possible or good for you to go. You must make the right choice for you. Remember that it is just one choice, and there are many more ahead. Our context and options will change by the day, sometimes by the hour.

However you spend this weekend, we all need to get extremely clear on how we think and talk about protest. If you aren’t deeply versed already, start with what movement leaders say we can learn from 2020. One thing I want to advocate strongly for here is thinking deeply about how you personally respond and contribute to the discourse around violence and nonviolent principles. The authors of Let This Radicalize You have just opened up access to their definitive chapter on this. Read it.

And if you are heading out, take good care of yourself and the people standing beside you. Watch the No Kings pre-mobilization call, know your rights, and read up. There are guides for how to do that from places you’d expect, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and others you might not expect, like WIRED.

We pledged to show up, protect, and resist. It’s time. It’s been time. Let’s follow through.

Liz