The White House has faced a flurry of rejections after inviting nine universities to become “initial signatories” of the so-called compact, which asked colleges to make commitments aligned with Trump’s political priorities in exchange for favorable access to research funding.
The White House asked university leaders to provide initial feedback on the compact by Oct. 20, yet as the deadline approaches, none has signed on to the document.
After the meeting, McMahon took a collaborative tone, speaking of ongoing discussions with universities and referencing continued federal funding.
“We look forward to working together to develop alternative, lasting approaches to improving higher education,” Paul Mahoney wrote.
White House officials described the offer as a proactive approach to shape policy at U.S. campuses even as the administration continues its enforcement efforts.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote on X that the meeting with university presidents, which was initially broke by The Associated Press, was an “important step toward defining a shared vision.”. She expressed her desire for further discussion and called for a “renewed commitment to the time-honored principles that helped make American universities great.”.
Following its invitation to nine universities to become “initial signatories” of the so-called compact, which asked universities to make pledges in line with Trump’s political priorities in exchange for preferential access to research funding, the White House has been inundated with rejections. It was Trump’s administration’s most recent attempt to discredit prominent universities that conservatives characterize as liberal hotspots.
University officials were asked by the White House to submit preliminary comments on the compact by October. 20, but no one has signed the document as the due date draws near. The University of Texas, Vanderbilt University, the University of Arizona, and Dartmouth College have not yet made an announcement. They didn’t answer inquiries about Friday’s call right away. The University of Texas system’s leaders have previously expressed their honor at being included, but other universities that are still considering the offer have not made their stance clear.
In a cooperative tone, McMahon mentioned continued federal funding and continued talks with universities after the meeting.
In the social media post, she stated, “American universities drive innovation, power our economy, and prepare young people for rewarding careers and fulfilling lives.”. Higher education can do more to strengthen American leadership globally and develop the workforce of the future with sustained federal investment and strong institutional leadership. “.”.
So far, no one has taken.
But on Friday, the University of Virginia chose not to join Trump’s compact, making it the fifth university to do so. The university’s interim president wrote to McMahon and White House officials that awarding federal funding based on any criteria other than merit would compromise research integrity and further erode public trust in higher education.
Paul Mahoney wrote, “We look forward to working together to develop alternative, lasting approaches to improving higher education.”.
What universities stand to gain by accepting the deal, or what they stand to lose if they reject it, is not entirely clear. The compact offered “multiple positive benefits,” including favorable access to federal funding, according to a letter sent with it by Trump officials. Colleges were asked to adopt ten pages of pledges that reflected Trump’s beliefs in return.
The government’s rigid binary definition of “man” and “woman,” the elimination of race and sex from admissions decisions, the promotion of conservative viewpoints on campus, and “institutional neutrality” on current affairs were among the demands made by the administration.
“If the institution chooses to forgo federal benefits, institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below,” the compact stated.
Even after student and faculty groups denounced the agreement, some Vanderbilt students were concerned that the university might still sign it on Friday.
Marjolein Mues, a postdoctoral researcher studying language development in the brain, stated in an interview at the Nashville campus, “My main worry is just that this is like a first hook.”. And once universities accept this, the conditions will shift, they will be asked to do more and more, and perhaps the government will begin to meddle more in the kinds of research that are conducted here. “.”.
The deal was first rejected last week by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which claimed it would restrict free speech and campus autonomy. Rejections from Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Southern California all raised similar issues.
an effort to transform academia.
Academics and others have wavered in their opposition to the compact, which seeks to transform higher education through negotiation rather than legislation. Students have demonstrated against it, academics have denounced it, and Democrats at all levels have taken offense. Gov. Democrats in Virginia and California’s Gavin Newsom have threatened to stop providing state funding to any university that agrees.
The administration was urged to revoke the compact by over 30 higher education organizations in a joint statement released Friday. The coalition, led by the American Council on Education, a group of research universities, claimed that the deal would restrict free speech and grant the government unheard-of authority over college curricula.
According to the statement, “the compact is a step in the wrong direction.”.
Many of the terms are similar to recent agreements the White House made with Columbia and Brown universities to restore research funding and end investigations into claims of discrimination. Although those agreements contained clauses reaffirming the academic freedom of the campuses, the compact does not provide such protection, which is one of the obstacles mentioned in Brown’s rejection.
Harvard has been Trump’s main target in his continuous attempts to gain compliance from influential universities. Harvard was the first university to publicly reject a series of broad government demands. After that, the White House canceled Harvard’s federal contracts, cut billions of dollars in research funding, and tried to prevent the Ivy League university from accepting international students.
Last month, a federal judge in Boston declared the funding cuts to be an unconstitutional overreach and reversed them.
Amid investigations into suspected antisemitism, funding has also been reduced at a number of other esteemed universities.
The offer was characterized by White House officials as a proactive strategy to influence policy at the U.S. A. campuses while the government keeps up its enforcement actions.
According to Trump, universities that join will contribute to the establishment of “the Golden Age of Academic Excellence in Higher Education” on Sunday. He claimed it would reform universities that are “now corrupting our Youth and Society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology” while speaking on his Truth Social platform. “.”.
