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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) became the first university to reject the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which would have given it preferential access to federal funding.
In a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, MIT President Sally Kornbluth wrote that the university “cannot support the proposed approach” and cited concerns regarding free expression.
“The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone,” Kornbluth wrote.
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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejected a Trump administration proposal to trade campus reforms for funding benefits. (Cassandra Klos/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Earlier this month, the White House asked nine universities to sign an agreement that would give them funding advantages in exchange for making reforms on campus.
The nine universities that were offered the proposal are MIT, the University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, according to CBS News, which cited a White House official. So far, none of the other eight schools have responded to the proposal.
The document outlining the proposal was obtained by multiple outlets. It includes a list of requirements for institutions that sign onto the agreement, as well as the benefits they will receive in return.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth speaks during commencement ceremonies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., on May 30, 2024. (Brian Snyder/File Photo/Reuters)
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“Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits,” the administration’s memo reads. The benefits include research funding, approval of student visas, “preferential treatment under the tax code” and access to student loans, grant programs and federal contracts.
The memo encouraged the universities to adopt the White House’s vision for America’s higher education, including commitments regarding free speech, women’s sports, tuition affordability and more. Specifically, it asks the universities to accept the U.S. government’s definition of gender and apply it to campus bathrooms, locker rooms and women’s sports teams.
The Maclaurin Buildings on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Cambridge, Mass. on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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It also asks colleges not to consider “sex, ethnicity, race, nationality, political views, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious associations, or proxies for any of those factors” in admissions and to require undergraduate applicants to take the SAT or ACT.
In the conclusion of her letter to McMahon, Kornbluth highlights “MIT’s record of service to the nation” and recalls that it helped develop a scientific partnership between the U.S. government and America’s research universities. Despite rejecting the proposal, Kornbluth vowed that MIT would continue to “believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.