Amid escalating tensions between American universities and the federal government, three prominent Yale professors are set to leave the country, citing growing concerns about academic freedom, political repression, and what they describe as the country’s “descent into fascism.”
Professors Jason Stanley, Timothy Snyder, and Marci Shore will begin new positions at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy in fall 2025, marking one of the most high-profile academic exits of the year.
Political climate pushes scholars abroad
Philosophy professor Jason Stanley, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, said the decision to leave was “entirely because of the political climate in the United States,” as reported by the Yale Daily News. He pointed to Columbia University’s capitulation to government demands following threats to cut $400 million in federal funding and deport student protesters. For Stanley, the lack of pushback from other institutions signaled a tipping point.
“I just became very worried because I didn’t see a strong enough reaction in other universities to side with Columbia,” he told The Guardian. “That’s just a losing strategy.”
History professors Timothy Snyder and Marci Shore, who are married and specialize in Eastern European history, had reportedly been in discussions with the Munk School for over two years. Shore confirmed that the 2024 elections played a role in their final decision to leave. The couple has long drawn parallels between fascist regimes and current developments in U.S. politics.
A void at Yale—and in American academia
The departure leaves Yale without three influential voices in philosophy and Eastern European studies. Colleagues and students have described the move as a serious blow to the university. Philosophy department chair Paul Franks called Stanley “irreplaceable,” while Ukrainian language professor Olha Tytarenko described Snyder and Shore’s exit as leaving behind a “profound void.”
Shore also warned that others in academia may follow. “I don’t feel confident that American universities will manage to mobilize to protect either their students or their faculty,” she said. The current political trajectory, she added, represents an “American descent into fascism.”
The professors are expected to begin their new roles this fall, with Shore appointed chair in European intellectual history and Snyder named the inaugural chair in Modern European History.
