Column in response to the Jan. 30, 2026 guest column, “Protect our international faculty”
We are aware that misinformation has been shared about Trinity University’s response to an executive order by the Trump Administration that affected our international faculty members. The order, issued Sept. 19, 2025, increased fees for H-1B visas to $100,000 per application. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services later clarified that the increased fee applied only to new consular H-1B applications, confirming that no current Trinity faculty member’s visa would be subject to the fee.
Trinity has a long, rich history of working with international faculty members, recruiting international students and developing international programs that enrich our community academically, socially and intellectually.
Let us be clear: Trinity values all our international faculty members, students and staff members, and we will continue to do everything possible to support them.
That is why, when we learned of the executive order, the provost emailed all faculty and staff members on Sept. 20, within hours of the issuance of the Sept. 19 executive order.
Since Sept. 20, Human Resources, the Provost’s Office and the Center for International Engagement have been in direct contact with individuals who might be affected to provide additional information and assistance. We have also been in regular communication with deans and the Faculty Senate leadership about this evolving situation and its implications for current and prospective faculty members. All of this was shared at meetings of the Faculty Assembly on Oct. 31 and Dec. 10.
Trinity, like every other university, is a complex organization with a lot of information being shared through multiple channels on a daily basis. We understand that from time to time, communications might be misunderstood or overlooked. If faculty, staff or students are concerned about an administrative action, please do what we teach our students to do: Discover the facts and engage leadership – first at the department or program level, SGA, the Faculty Senate or the Trinity Staff Engagement Council – in a genuine, respectful conversation. Doing so will help prevent the spread of misinformation.
