Elite schools reject Trump’s push for political balance on campus
Hold onto your mortarboards, folks -- some of America’s most prestigious universities are giving a hard pass to a Trump administration plan that could have reshaped campus culture.
The Trump team rolled out a bold “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” targeting top-tier schools to foster political diversity, but institutions like Dartmouth, UVA, MIT, and Brown have firmly declined the offer, citing risks to academic freedom and unease with federal overreach, as Breitbart reports.
This initiative wasn’t just a polite suggestion; it came with the carrot of preferential funding for schools willing to rethink or even dismantle departments seen as hostile to conservative thought.
Which schools said no?
The list of universities approached reads like a who’s who of higher education: Dartmouth College, University of Virginia (UVA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University, University of Arizona, and University of Texas, Austin.
Of those, Dartmouth, UVA, MIT, Brown, Penn, and USC outright rejected the compact, unwilling to trade their autonomy for federal dollars.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt, Arizona, and UT Austin are still mulling over the proposal, perhaps weighing whether the funding is worth the strings attached.
Compact's conditions raise eyebrows
The compact’s terms were anything but subtle, demanding bans on using race, sex, or religion in hiring and admissions, a five-year tuition freeze, a cap on foreign undergrads at 15%, and mandatory standardized test scores for entry.
It also aimed to clamp down on campus chaos, specifically targeting disruptions from protests over conservative speakers or anti-Israel demonstrations -- a clear nod to restoring order where free speech often gets drowned out by shouting matches.
While the intent to balance ideas might resonate with those tired of one-sided campus narratives, the heavy-handed stipulations have sparked fears of government meddling in academic affairs.
Voices of rejection speak loudly
Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock didn’t mince words, stating, “I do not believe that the involvement of the government through a compact -- whether it is a Republican- or Democratic-led White House -- is the right way to focus America’s leading colleges and universities on their teaching and research mission.”
That’s a polite but firm slap on the wrist to any administration thinking it can dictate campus priorities—conservative or otherwise.
UVA interim president Paul Mahoney echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “we seek no special treatment in exchange” for upholding principles like a thriving marketplace of ideas and equal treatment of students.
State-level pushback adds drama
Mahoney’s stance shows a willingness to embrace diverse thought, but not at the cost of being seen as a federal puppet -- a position many conservatives might grudgingly respect even if they crave campus reform.
Adding fuel to the fire, California Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to yank billions in state funding, including Cal Grants, from any California school daring to sign the compact, calling it a radical surrender of academic freedom.
Newsom’s ultimatum might be a progressive power play, but it underscores just how divisive this proposal has become, pitting state against federal priorities while universities are caught in the crossfire.