A prestigious Belgian university urgently warned its staff in recent days of possible risks of collaborating with American colleges amid United States President Donald Trump’s ongoing crackdown on higher education institutions.
“The United States government took several measures that threaten the autonomy of universities and academic freedom,” Ghent University (UGent) said in an email to staff that POLITICO has seen the text of, adding that due to its many research collaborations with U.S. institutions, “the university is concerned about these developments.”
UGent is recognized as one of the world’s leading universities, ranking 109th globally and second in Belgium, according to the 2025 Best Global Universities ranking.
The university outlined a set of guidelines and best practices for academics and students traveling to the U.S., highlighting increased border controls, shifting attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community and the possibility of arrest for researchers who have publicly criticized the Trump administration.
UGent also advised researchers working on projects in partnership with U.S. institutions —particularly on “topics the U.S. government considers sensitive (climate change, transgender rights, diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programs)” — to store their data on internal servers.
“This way you avoid that the data can be deleted if it is on a U.S. server,” the university said.
In the U.S., Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign against some of the country’s most prestigious universities, introducing stricter regulations and threatening to freeze or cut federal funding unless institutions comply with his administration’s demands.
On April 14, the U.S. Department of Education announced plans to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funds to Harvard University after the Ivy League institution refused White House demands to adopt new policies on student and faculty conduct and admissions.
Last week, UGent Rector Rik Van de Walle voiced his support for Harvard.
“Political control of universities’ core tasks and silencing of academics is unacceptable in the US and elsewhere,” he said. “We should never accept politicians having the final say in universities. That is the prerogative of their staff and students.”
Max Fahler contributed to this report.
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