Latest from the White House (October 14)

9 Universities Asked to Sign White House Compact in Exchange for Funding

Earlier this month, nine of the nation’s leading research universities received letters from the White House urging that they agree to Trump Administration priorities in exchange for federal funding. The Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education lays out several conditions, such as freezing tuition rates for five years, capping international student enrollment, agreeing to the Administration’s definitions of gender, and “transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spart violence against conservative ideas.”

In return, institutions that sign the compact will be guaranteed: “(i) access to student loans, grant programs, and federal contracts; (ii) funding for research directly or indirectly; (iii) approval of student and other visas in connection with university matriculation and instruction; and (iv) preferential treatment under the tax code.” Implementing a system such as this would significantly upend the higher education ecosystem and research enterprise as they currently exist, which has been a goal of this Administration.

However, some universities and higher education organizations are publicly expressing concerns about the proposal, noting that some of the demands, such as prohibiting university employees from speaking out about societal or political events, are unconstitutional.

The nine universities involved include: University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas, Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia. The institutions are given until October 20 to provide feedback on the compact, with the White House aiming to have signed agreements in hand by November 21.