Penn President Available to Comment on the Solomon Amendment and Military Recruiting on Campus

Sept. 27, 2005

Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, is available to comment on the decade-old Solomon Amendment, which now requires private universities to offer to military recruiters access identical to that offered to other recruiters or risk losing federal funds.

"The Solomon Amendment is a direct intrusion on the academic freedom of universities, particularly research universities that depend upon federal research dollars.  Private universities are critical to scientific research in America, including research aimed at improving our nation defense and military preparedness.  The federal government contention that a private university that does not wish to be bound by a funding condition is free to decline federal assistance is a ake it or leave itattitude that threatens the fundamental First Amendment protections and core values of academia." 

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