The Massachusetts Institute of Technology publicly rejected an offer from the Trump administration Friday that would’ve granted the university preferential treatment for federal funding in exchange for new restrictions on the school’s finances, hiring and admissions.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth said the administration’s “compact” includes principles they “disagree” with and would ultimately restrict the school’s freedom of speech and independence in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
“In our view, America’s leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences,” Kornbluth wrote. “Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.”
The Education Department has approached nine colleges in recent weeks about signing the compact and MIT is the first to make its position publicly known.
The compact involves changing college admissions policies and faculty hiring, ensuring there is “a broad spectrum of viewpoints” on campus, ensuring sex is defined as “male” and “female,” and adopting a policy of institutional neutrality, which means they won’t weigh in on societal and political events.
Neither the White House nor the Education Department immediately responded to requests for comment.
