WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said Friday she “cannot support” a White House proposal that asks MIT and eight other universities to adopt President Donald Trump’s political agenda in exchange for favorable access to federal funding.
MIT is one of the first universities to voice strong opposition to an agreement that the White House claims would provide “multiple positive benefits,” including “substantial and meaningful federal grants.” Though some leaders, like those of the University of Texas system, welcomed the proposal, the majority of institutions are still assessing the document.
In her letter to Trump administration officials, MIT President Sally Kornbluth expressed disagreement with several provisions, particularly those that threaten free speech and undermined the university’s autonomy. She remarked that such requirements conflict with MIT's enduring belief that scientific funding should be judged purely on merit.
“Thus, respectfully, MIT cannot endorse the proposed strategy for addressing the challenges facing higher education,” Kornbluth stated in her communication to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and White House officials.
The higher education compact shared last week requires universities to embrace a variety of commitments aligned with Trump's political agenda, affecting admissions, women's sports, and campus discipline. Institutions were given until Oct. 20 for feedback and must decide by Nov. 21.
Other universities receiving the 10-page proposal include Vanderbilt, the University of Pennsylvania, and Brown University. Selection criteria for these institutions remain unclear.
University leaders are under considerable pressure to reject the compact in light of opposition from students, faculty, and higher education advocates, with some labeling the endeavor as extortive. In a formal response, Tucson's city council denounced the compact as “unacceptable federal overreach.”
Even some conservative voices criticized the compact. Frederick Hess, education policy director at the American Enterprise Institute called it “profoundly problematic,” suggesting that its stipulations had no legal grounding.
While Kornbluth's letter did not outright reject the compact, it implied that its terms could not be realistically met. Nevertheless, she affirmed that MIT aligns with values established within the compact, such as fostering merit in admissions and making education accessible.
The compact also proposes freezing tuition rates for U.S. students for five years and disallowing tuition for students enrolled in “hard science” programs at universities with large endowments.
Additionally, it requires all prospective undergraduate students to submit standardized test scores and mandates that institutions disregard applicants' race, sex, and other factors during the admissions process. Universities would also be compelled to recognize a binary gender classification for campus activities including bathrooms and sports teams.
To create a more diverse marketplace of ideas, the compact encourages universities to dismantle entities that actively undermine conservative perspectives.
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