University of Arizona becomes seventh US college to reject Trump’s ‘compact’

Administration has pushed nine universities to sign a deal that seeks to make changes in line with conservative ideas

The University of Arizona has become the seventh US university to reject a Trump administration proposal that would grant schools funding priority if they agree to support the administration’s conservative agenda.

The decision follows the administration’s push for nine universities to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”, which seeks to make sweeping changes to campus culture, hiring and admissions practices and foreign student enrollment. Demands from the Trump administration’s 10-point compact include reforms to the way race or ethnicity are used in admission and hiring practices, as well as a commitment to strict definitions of gender, among others.

The deadline for universities to provide their initial feedback on the draft of the compact is 20 October.

In a letter to the Department of Education sent on Monday, Suresh Garimella, the University of Arizona president, said that “principles like academic freedom, merit-based research funding and institutional independence are foundational and must be preserved”.

“We seek no special treatment and believe in our ability to compete for federally funded research strictly on merit,” Garimella said in the letter.

Along with rejecting the administration’s compact, the university attached a “Statement of Principles”, which included its commitment to title VII of the Civil Rights Act and other federal and state anti-discrimination laws.

The move comes after six other universities – Brown University, Dartmouth College, MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California and the University of Virginia – also rejected the proposal, while Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas at Austin have not yet declined the proposal.

Daniel Diermeier , the Vanderbilt chancellor, did not outright reject the proposal, and instead said the university would provide the government with more feedback on the future of higher education. Diermeier said that Vanderbilt participated in a meeting held by Trump officials on Friday, convening universities to gather input and feedback from the schools about the proposal.

Diermeier suggested that Vanderbilt’s core principles were at odds with the demands of the compact.

“Our North Star has always been that academic freedom, free expression and independence are essential for universities to make their vital and singular contributions to society,” he said in a statement. “We also believe that research awards should be made based on merit alone. This merit-based approach has enabled the scholarly and scientific excellence that has driven American health, security and prosperity for decades. It must be preserved.”

UT Austin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.

Kevin Eltife, UT system board of regents chair, said the system was honored UT Austin was selected to be part of the Trump administration’s proposal, according to the Texas Tribune. Students and faculty at UT Austin have raised concerns about academic freedom, leading alumni to create a petition urging the university not to sign the proposal. The petition has received more than 1,400 signatures.

The compact also requires colleges to freeze tuition for five years, implement a 15% cap of international undergraduates in the student body, ensure a “vibrant marketplace of ideas on campus” and to create a more welcoming environment for conservatives. Universities that decide to sign the compact are promised “multiple positive benefits”, including “substantial and meaningful federal grants”.

Amid the wave of rejections, the Trump administration extended the invitation to other universities, including Washington University in St Louis, the University of Kansas and Arizona State University, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Earlier this month, Trump wrote on social media that “much of Higher Education has lost its way, and is now corrupting our Youth and Society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology”, and that “Institutions that want to quickly return to the pursuit of Truth and Achievement” were “invited to enter into a forward looking Agreement with the Federal Government to help bring about the Golden Age of Academic Excellence in Higher Education”.