The five universities that were still weighing President Donald Trump’s higher-education compact were asked to join a White House call Friday to discuss the proposed deal. By late Friday afternoon, one of the schools — the University of Virginia — had already declined to sign the agreement.
The meeting with university presidents, first reported by The Associated Press, was an “important step toward defining a shared vision,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a post on X. She called for “renewed commitment to the time-honored principles that helped make American universities great” and said she looked forward to more dialogue.
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. It was the latest effort by Trump’s administration to bring to heel prestigious universities that conservatives describe as hotbeds of liberalism.
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. Those that have not yet announced a decision are Dartmouth College, the University of Arizona, the University of Texas and Vanderbilt University. They did not immediately respond to questions about Friday’s call. Leaders of the University of Texas system previously said they were honored to be included, but other universities still weighing the deal have not indicated how they’re leaning.
After the meeting, McMahon took a collaborative tone, speaking of ongoing discussions with universities and referencing continued federal funding.
“American universities power our economy, drive innovation, and prepare young people for rewarding careers and fulfilling lives,” she said in the social media post. “With continued federal investment and strong institutional leadership, the higher education sector can do more to enhance American leadership in the world and build tomorrow’s workforce.”
No takers so far
Nevertheless, the University of Virginia on Friday became the fifth university to decline to participate in Trump’s compact. Providing federal money based on anything but merit would undermine the integrity of research and further erode public confidence in higher education, the university’s interim president said in a letter to McMahon and White House officials.
“We look forward to working together to develop alternative, lasting approaches to improving higher education,” Paul Mahoney wrote.
It’s unclear exactly what universities have to gain by agreeing to the deal — or what they stand to lose if they don’t. In a letter sent alongside the compact, Trump officials said it provided “multiple positive benefits,” including favorable access to federal funding. In exchange, colleges were asked to adopt 10 pages of commitments aligned with Trump’s views.
The administration asked for commitments to eliminate race and sex from admissions decisions, to accept the government’s strict binary definition of “man” and “woman,” to promote conservative views on campus and to ensure “institutional neutrality” on current events, among other provisions.
“Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits,” the compact said.
The issue weighed on some students at Vanderbilt on Friday, with some worrying the university might sign the agreement even after student and faculty groups condemned it.
“My major concern is just that this is like a first hook,” Marjolein Mues, a postdoctoral researcher in language development in the brain, said in an interview at the Nashville campus. “And once universities agree to this, the terms will change, and more and more will be asked of universities, and that maybe the government will start to interfere more with the types of research being done here.”
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the first to decline the deal last week, saying it would limit free speech and campus independence. Similar concerns were cited in rejections from Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California.
A push to change academia
The compact — which aims to reshape higher education through negotiation rather than legislation — has stirred a wave of pushback from academia and beyond. It has been protested by students, been condemned by faculty and drawn the ire of Democrats at all levels. Gov. Gavin Newsom in California and Democrats in Virginia have threatened to cut state funding to any university that signs on.
In a joint statement Friday, more than 30 higher education organizations urged the administration to withdraw the compact. Led by the American Council on Education, an association of research universities, the coalition said the agreement would give the government unprecedented control over colleges’ academics and hinder free speech.
“The compact is a step in the wrong direction,” the statement said.
Many of the terms align with recent deals the White House struck with Brown and Columbia universities to close investigations into alleged discrimination and to restore research funding. But while those agreements included terms affirming the campuses’ academic freedom, the compact offers no such protection — one of the roadblocks cited in Brown’s rejection.
In Trump’s ongoing quest to win obedience from powerful universities, his top target has been Harvard, the first university to openly defy a set of wide-ranging demands from the government. The White House went on to slash billions of dollars in research funding at Harvard, cancel its federal contracts and attempt to block the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students.
A federal judge in Boston reversed the funding cuts last month, calling them an unconstitutional overreach.
Several other prestigious universities have also had their funding cut amid investigations into alleged antisemitism.
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.
Trump on Sunday said colleges that sign on will help bring about “the Golden Age of Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” Speaking on his Truth Social platform, he said it would reform universities that are “now corrupting our Youth and Society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology.”
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