The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Friday rejected the Trump administration’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which would have required sweeping changes on campus in exchange for a funding advantage in federal grant awards.
The 10-point memo was provided to nine higher learning institutions last week, requiring reforms such as a rewiring of the admissions process by adjusting the consideration of race or ethnicity, student grading and demanding that transgender women be excluded from women’s locker rooms and sports teams.
The document “includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution,” reads a Friday letter from MIT President Sally Kornbluth to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
“And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone,” she added.
MIT is the first institution to publicly rebuke the offer, in spite of its ties to preferential funding.
TVNL Comment: Congratulations to MIT for making this decision!