Colleges Scramble to Shield Programs Amid Growing Hostility from GOP

University leaders are bracing for an onslaught of aggressive legislation and regulations amid growing hostility from an ascendant Republican Party that depends less and less on college-educated voters. For years, conservatives have seen colleges and universities as unwelcoming and disdainful of their values. Tensions between Republicans and higher education have been rising over questions of free speech, the cost of college, diversity, race and more. Now that rift has become a rupture. As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, many colleges are preparing for threats to research funding, endowments, diversity efforts, student financial aid, visas for foreign students and more.