US President Donald Trump
The White House is embarking on a high-stakes experiment with American universities, seeking to reshape elite campuses not merely through coercion but by using federal funds as a lever for ideological compliance.
The move signals a strategic shift from threats to incentives, blending persuasion and pressure in a way that has sparked concern among educators and legal experts alike. On Wednesday, a memo titled “A Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” arrived at the offices of nine top-tier institutions, laying out a detailed framework designed to bring schools in line with the Trump administration’s conservative agenda.
The document sets expectations across admissions, hiring, and campus policy, making clear that participation could come with financial benefits—and noncompliance with consequences.
A ten-point roadmap to compliance
The memo is striking in its scope. It calls for capping international undergraduate enrollment at 15%, banning the consideration of race or sex in admissions and hiring, and defining gender strictly by biology. Schools would also be expected to consider the Classic Learning Test alongside the SAT and ACT and to reform or dismantle internal units deemed hostile to conservative viewpoints.
Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors, warned that the initiative represents “a carrot embedded with a stick,” as reported by the Reuters noting that universities could gain federal rewards for compliance while facing penalties for deviation.
Academic freedom on the line
Universities have long operated under protections designed to safeguard free inquiry. Critics argue the memo represents a dangerous intrusion, converting federal funding into a tool for ideological enforcement. Tyler Coward, lead counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, cautioned as reported by the R
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