Third Circuit Overturns Order Requiring Penn to Share Jewish Staff Details

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Tuesday vacated the district‑court order that had forced the University of Pennsylvania to hand over the names and contact information of its Jewish employees to the Trump administration. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had issued a July 2025 subpoena seeking the names of members of Jewish clubs, the Jewish Studies Department and other Jewish‑affiliated groups. A district judge had upheld the subpoena in March, but the EEOC withdrew the demand in July. The university dropped its own appeal after the withdrawal, yet the American Association of University Professors and its Penn chapter continued the appeal to erase any remaining precedent. Lorena Grundy, a practice assistant professor of chemical engineering and vice president of AAUP‑Penn, said, "With the district court ruling now vacated, it becomes a much less useful tool for the Trump administration to try to compel other universities to provide similar information." She added that the decision removes a persuasive reference the administration could have used against other campuses. The interveners in the case also included Penn's Jewish Law Student Association, the Penn Association of Senior & Emeritus Faculty and the American Academy of Jewish Research, all of which sought a legal voice rather than just filing amicus briefs. Spokespeople for Penn and the EEOC did not respond to requests for comment. AAUP‑Penn members called the outcome "really encouraging" because it marked a rare alliance with university administration, noting that faculty and administrators seldom fight side by side. "Being in higher ed right now is just being on the receiving end of an onslaught of attacks against your academic freedom, your shared governance, your First Amendment rights, your funding—just everything, all the time," Grundy said. ## Context The ruling limits the EEOC's ability to cite a district‑court decision as persuasive authority, making it harder for future administrations to demand similar employee data from universities. It also signals that legal challenges by faculty groups can protect academic freedom and privacy on campus.