SCMS Signs Joint Statement on NEH Grant Cancellations and Proposed Cuts (Apr 2025)

SCMS has signed on to a joint statement from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the Council of Graduate Schools, and the Phi Beta Kappa Society opposing the April 2, 2025, cancellation of NEH grants and proposed staff reductions. The statement underscores the NEH’s long-standing role in supporting scholars and sustaining the infrastructure of publicly engaged humanities research. The loss of this vital federal support threatens individual scholarship, academic publishing, public programming, and the broader scholarly ecosystem.

SCMS Joins ACLS and Phi Beta Kappa in Defense of the U.S. Department of Education (Mar 2025)

SCMS has signed on to a joint statement from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and The Phi Beta Kappa Society opposing the March 20, 2025, executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. The statement emphasizes the Department’s critical role in funding higher education and protecting student financial aid, warning that its closure would have catastrophic implications for students, faculty, and communities across the country.

SCMS Signs On to AHA Statement on 2024 Campus Protests (May 2024)

SCMS has signed on to a statement“deplor[ing] recent decisions among college and university administrators to draw on local and state police forces to evict peaceful demonstrators.” Pointing to historical events on campuses such as Kent State University and Jackson State University in 1970, as well as the “Orangeburg Massacre” of 1968, the AHA “urges everyone involved to learn from that history and turn away from the violent escalation we are now seeing on campuses.” 

SCMS Joins Call to Rethink SUNY Potsdam's Program Cuts (October 2023)

Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) has added its voice to a collective statement from numerous academic organizations urging a reconsideration of SUNY Potsdam's recently announced Financial Sustainability Plan. The plan entails the elimination of 14 programs, including core liberal arts disciplines. SCMS and other signatories argue that such cuts run counter to SUNY Potsdam's mission and the broader purpose of public higher education, which is to provide students with a well-rounded, liberal arts foundation. The statement emphasizes the enduring value of a diverse educational approach and the importance of adaptability in an ever-changing job market.

SCMS Statement on Best Practices for Job Searches (September 2023)

SCMS is committed to fostering equitable and respectful job search processes. In the job market, applicants often face a demanding process. With this statement, SCMS emphasizes the need for empathy and fairness in job searches, recognizing the challenges faced by applicants. We encourage university search committees to consider the following best practices.

SCMS Signs On to ACLS Statement Opposing Major Cuts to West Virginia University Programs (September 2023)

SCMS has signed on to a statement from the American Council of Learned Societies opposing proposed major cuts to West Virginia University (WVU) undergraduate and graduate programs across multiple departments. "By proposing [these] cuts . . . the university is denying its students and the people of West Virginia access to the wide range of knowledge necessary to fulfill that mission," the ACLS wrote. "The path WVU is treading is unprecedented for a public flagship and dangerous for American higher education and society."

SCMS Signs On to ACLS Statement on SCOTUS Ruling on Affirmative Action (July 2023)

SCMS has signed on to the ACLS's statement on the US Supreme Court's ruling that "race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities [are] unlawful, thus rejecting widely accepted practices meant to encourage diversity that have been part of US higher education for more than fifty years." "The active participation of diverse people in the scholarly enterprise is the best way to combat historic and systemic inequities," the statement reads. "In partnership with academic societies, scholars, administrators, supporters, and peer organizations, we seek better ways to recruit and retain a diverse community of scholars across all fields of study and to serve a more diverse professoriate. We will continue our collective effort to ignite and advance systemic change within the academy."

SCMS Signs ACLS Statement Opposing Florida House Bill 999 (March 2023)

SCMS has signed onto a statement from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) opposing Florida House Bill 999, "protest[ing] this proposed legislation and call[ing] on citizens to recognize the danger it poses to higher education in this country." If HB 999 passes, the ACLS writes, "it ends academic freedom in the state's public colleges and universities, with dire consequences for their teaching, research, and financial well-being. . . . Academic freedom means freedom of thought, not the state-mandated production of histories edited to suit one party's agenda in the current culture wars."

SCMS Signs On to ACLS Statement in Support of Academic Freedom and New College of Florida (February 2023)

SCMS has signed on to a statement from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) "in support of ex-President [Dr. Patricia] Okker, the New College community, and faculty and students at institutions of higher education around the country" following Florida governor Ron DeSantis's politically motivated "overhaul" of New College of Florida. "Their attacks threaten public understanding of our nation's history and culture, and they undermine key principles of academic freedom and faculty governance," the ACLS writes.