MIT Rejects Trump’s Preferential Funding Offer, Citing Academic Freedom
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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has become the first American university to reject Donald Trump’s proposed “preferential funding compact”, denouncing it as an attack on academic freedom and institutional independence.
The compact, circulated last week to nine leading US universities, offers federal funding advantages in exchange for adhering to a set of politically driven conditions. These include capping international undergraduate enrolments at 15%, banning diversity-based hiring, and freezing tuition fees for five years.
MIT president Sally Kornbluth publicly refused to sign the agreement, saying it “fundamentally contradicts MIT’s core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.” In a letter to US Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Kornbluth added that the university “must hear facts and opinions we don’t like – and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.”
The proposal also demands universities abolish departments that “punish” conservative ideas and restrict employees from making political statements in an official capacity. If accepted, institutions would be required to share international students’ disciplinary records with the federal government.
While MIT’s stance marks the first official rejection, other universities have responded cautiously. The University of Texas said it was “honoured” to be included in Trump’s plan, while faculty bodies at the University of Virginia and the University of Arizona have voted overwhelmingly to oppose it.
California governor Gavin Newsom warned that any Californian university signing the compact, including the University of Southern California (USC), one of the nine recipients would “lose billions in state funding immediately.”
The cap on international students, analysts say, aligns with Trump’s broader anti-immigration rhetoric. However, few major US universities currently exceed the 15% international undergraduate threshold. Experts, including Boston College professor Chris Glass, argue the move is symbolic, setting “the terms of debate” for future higher education policy battles.
By rejecting the offer, MIT has positioned itself as a defender of academic freedom and global collaboration, values that many fear are under renewed political pressure in the United States.
Source: THE PIE NEWS
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