Hidden, as many things are hidden in the small print (and it’s all small print) of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Act (OBBA)” — signed by President Trump on July 4 — is a threat to shipbuilding at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. (By the way, Obba is also the name of a kind of white rot crust fungus. Look it up!).

This Philadelphia Inquirer headline caught my eye: “Philadelphia needs welders. A Trump administration proposal would eliminate the agency helping to train them.”

Trump has called for a shipbuilding boom to increase the U. S. naval fleet. Philadelphia’s Navy Yard is ready to expand production and hire hundreds of local welders. And then “Wham!”

Trump has already used vindictiveness and hostage-taking against higher education. Now he is employing pure stupidity.

OBBA suggests eliminating the Economic Development Administration (EDA). Part of the program for that federal agency involves a tuition-free, grant-funded training program for trade workers at local community colleges in partnership with Hanwha, the Korean company that purchased the South Philadelphia shipyard last year. The goal is to recruit would-be welders to build the nation’s ships here in Philadelphia (not to mention other new developments requiring welders across the city and region).

But beyond the loss to prospective welders, cancelling the EDA will be a big blow to Pennsylvania. Last year the EPA made 145 awards, investing more than $240 million and creating 18,689 jobs. One notable project, Assistance to Coal Communities, awarded funds to the Pennsylvania College of Technology to support workforce development in clean energy. Oh, yeh, clean energy! That’s a Trumpian no-no. Goodbye to all that!

Welding requires high-quality education

Let me say something about the excellence in welding education available at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) and at other local community colleges. Students enrolled in the CCP program get plenty of hands-on experience. But they also gain essential career skills: critical thinking, working in teams, problem solving, interpersonal communication, work habits, budget basics, shop math, and blueprint reading. Contrary to the stereotype, welding education involves the mind as well as the hands.

At the three universities I led, Governors State University (GSU), University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), and Arizona State University West, we offered bachelor degree completion degrees for students transferring associate degrees in career/technical fields, what we called inverted baccalaureates. For example, students with two years of welding education could enter GSU as juniors and select courses aligned with their interests. They could take business management courses, or they could select courses in the general liberal arts. The idea was that they had specialized in the first two years in welding, culinary arts, paralegal, etc., and now they could place that hands-on learning in a wider context. I encourage Philadelphia-area universities to consider offering inverted baccalaureates.

As far as the Trump administration is concerned, outlandish interference and violations of the First Amendment seem to be working. But this withdrawal of funding from a welding program may be a step too far. Perhaps stupidity will bring them down. Something has to.

Flashback to 2006: As Chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage, I was attending a Board of Regents meeting. Then-gubernatorial candidate Sarah Palin was speaking to the Regents about her vision for higher education. “Alaska,” said Palin, “needs welders, not philosophers.”

Sarah Palin and I had a cordial relationship. I’ve often said, “I knew Sarah Palin before she was Sarah Palin.” We got to know each other in 2004, when she was the former mayor of Wasilla, an Anchorage suburb. We were both on a panel discussing the role of women in Alaska leadership. It turned out there was a lengthy luncheon before our panel, and we had lots of time to chat woman to woman. After that, she would call me from time to time about educational issues.

After her remarks to the Regents, I followed her out of the meeting room. “Sarah,” I said, “Alaska needs welders and philosophers. In fact, sometimes, the welders are also philosophers. Please support hands-on and liberal arts education.”

I don’t think my plea had much influence on Palin’s policies as Alaska Governor or as vice presidential candidate. But I’m glad I made the point to her about welders and philosophers, and I’m determined to repeat it here.

In the midst of this federal war on higher education, please support a full range of educational opportunities for our citizens. As far as the Trump administration is concerned, outlandish interference and violations of the First Amendment seem to be working. But this withdrawal of funding from a welding program may be a step too far. Perhaps stupidity will bring them down. Something has to.

What we can do

• Lobby Senators Fetterman and McCormick and the Pennsylvania House delegation to do their jobs! How can they sit still for what is happening? At the very least, they should restore funds for prospective welders through the Economic Development Administration (EDA).
• Keep government out of the classroom. Government’s job is to fund and support education, not to dictate what is taught. I’m not talking simply about banned books and compulsory removal of vocabulary words (diversity, equity, inclusion) from teachers’ speech and lesson plans. Please let educators do their jobs and make decisions about classroom priorities.

Elaine Maimon, Ph.D., is the author of Leading Academic Change: Vision, Strategy, Transformation. Her long career in higher education has encompassed top executive positions at public universities as well as distinction as a scholar in rhetoric/composition. Her co-authored book, Writing In The Arts and Sciences, has been designated as a landmark text. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum.

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