For AAUP-Penn members, it was really encouraging
to fight alongside the university administration, according to Lorena Grundy, vice president of AAUP-Penn. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated a district court decision on Tuesday that had ordered the University of Pennsylvania to hand over contact details and names of Jewish employees to the Trump administration.
Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had already withdrawn its subpoena, the American Association of University Professors still views the decision as a significant victory
that protects other institutions from similar probes. The legal battle began in November when the EEOC asked the district court to enforce a July 2025 subpoena seeking names and contact information for members of Jewish clubs and organizations, alongside employees in the Jewish Studies Department.
Interveners Appeal District Court Ruling to Eliminate Precedent
The district court ruled in favor of the EEOC in March, prompting an appeal from Penn and several interveners, including the AAUP, AAUP-Penn, Penn’s Jewish Law Student Association, the Penn Association of Senior & Emeritus Faculty, and the American Academy of Jewish Research. Although the Trump administration abruptly withdrew its subpoena in July and Penn dropped its appeal in return, the allied interveners continued with their appeal to eliminate the district court’s precedent.
With the district court ruling still on the books, the EEOC could go to another university, make a really similar demand and say, ‘You shouldn’t fight back on this—look at this ruling from Penn. You’re going to lose,’
Grundy said. By maintaining their legal standing, the interveners ensured the ruling was vacated, neutralizing a tool the administration could have cited in future scenarios. Grundy noted that the interveners chose to join as a third party rather than filing amicus briefs because they wanted to have a legal voice
in the matter.
Faculty and Administrators Align Against Academic Freedom Attacks
Spokespeople for Penn and the EEOC did not return requests for comment on Tuesday. Faculty and administrators rarely find themselves allied in campus battles, making the joint effort a notable departure from routine dynamics. During the district court hearing, Penn’s lawyer remarked that it was the first time that the AAUP has agreed with the Penn administration on anything,
according to Grundy.
Being in higher ed right now is just being on the receiving end of an onslaught of attacks against your academic freedom, your shared governance, your First Amendment rights, your funding—just everything, all the time,
Grundy stated. And so it feels really good to know that we were able to build this really strong coalition of people across the political spectrum, across different roles within the university—even people outside the university were able to come together on this.
