Addressing Recent Executive Orders

January 24, 2025

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon University Community:

This week, President Trump issued a number of executive actions on a wide range of topics, creating questions about the potential impact on higher education. 

As in previous presidential transitions, we are currently engaging with internal and external experts to evaluate executive orders and other federal actions so that we can offer guidance to our campus stakeholders on any changes that could directly affect university operations and community members. Given the sweeping number of orders and their far-reaching impact on both the public and private sectors, we expect it will take several weeks to understand the full implications of these orders. We are actively collaborating with academic and administrative leadership to keep our campus community and stakeholders informed as more specific guidance, including updates from relevant federal agencies, becomes available. 

I firmly believe in Carnegie Mellon's unique role shaping the future of society. We remain steadfast in our commitment to upholding our institutional values, amplifying the excellence and impact of our education and research missions in service to the nation, and complying with the law. 

Many in the country remain divided on the issues of the day and, as always, we encourage members across our Carnegie Mellon community to continue to embrace meaningful, civil discourse that makes space for many perspectives. Advancing understanding by sharing knowledge is one of our greatest strengths as a university community — and a mission that is vital to our democracy.

Sincerely,

Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President’s Chair