NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) – The University of Arizona on Monday cited academic freedom as it became the seventh elite institution to decline a Trump administration proposal offering nine schools preferential consideration for federal funding in exchange for agreeing to a set of policies.
Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas at Austin have yet to announce whether they will sign the proposal, for which the administration gave a Monday deadline.
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Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, and Dartmouth College previously rejected the proposal.
A White House official has said schools other than the nine initially approached could sign on to the proposal.
NEW YORK, Oct. 20 (Reuters) — Citing academic freedom, the University of Arizona on Monday became the seventh prestigious university to reject a proposal from the Trump administration that would have given nine schools top priority for federal funding in exchange for a set of policies.
The proposal was given a deadline of Monday by the administration, but neither Vanderbilt University nor the University of Texas at Austin have indicated whether they will sign it.
Dartmouth College, the University of Southern California, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, Brown University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had all previously turned down the proposal.
A White House official told Reuters that none of the three had “signed the compact yet” in response to questions about whether UT Austin or Vanderbilt had reacted to the University of Arizona’s statement refusing to sign the agreement. “.”.
“There isn’t a version ready for signature just yet, as the administration is still hearing from the universities,” the official continued. “.”.
The tenets of the foundation “must be preserved.”.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the White House has attempted to stop schools and universities from receiving funding because of things like pro-Palestinian demonstrations against U.S. S. transgender policies, climate initiatives, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and Israel’s war in Gaza.
The administration has terminated millions of dollars in federal contracts with many schools to force them to make significant changes to their hiring and admissions practices, among other things. Numerous federal cuts have been ordered to be restored by courts. Early in the month, the compact—which was distributed to the nine universities—marked a change in strategy.
Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Arizona, wrote in a statement to the campus community, “A number of the proposed federal recommendations deserve thoughtful consideration as our national higher education system could benefit from reforms that have been much too slow to develop.”.
Many of the suggested ideas are actually already implemented at the University of Arizona. However, fundamental values that must be upheld include academic freedom, merit-based research funding, and institutional independence.
Instead, the university has submitted to the U.S. A. The Department of Education’s current Statement of Principles lists university policies like merit-based hiring and giving eligible Arizona students and applicants from U.S. priority admission. S. “tribal nations,” Garimella wrote.
In the White House’s 10-point memo, “A Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” the administration requested that the nine prestigious universities limit the percentage of international undergraduate students at 15%, forbid the use of sex or race in admissions and hiring, and establish biologically based genders.
While “transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposely punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas” was a call in the memo, liberal ideas were not given the same protection.
It also suggested that in addition to the SAT and ACT, the Classic Learning Test—which is supported by some conservatives and is currently approved for use by Florida’s public university system—be taken into consideration for college entrance exams.
Universities that follow the memo’s “models and values” could “forgo federal benefits,” according to the memo, while those that don’t could receive rewards.
According to a White House official, schools other than the nine that were first contacted could support the proposal.
Helen Coster reported from New York, while Donna Bryson, Richard Chang, and Kate Mayberry edited the story.
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Helen Coster is a Reuters National Affairs Correspondent who focuses on media and politics while writing a variety of spot news, enterprise, and analysis pieces. Prior to covering the 2024 presidential election, she focused on Republicans and covered the media landscape.
