MIT rejects Trump admin offer to sign a ‘compact’ for a funding edge

Sally Kornbluth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s president, rejected an offer from the Trump administration to sign a “compact” in exchange for preferential access to federal funding, according to a letter she wrote to the Trump administration.

She wrote that the “compact” is “inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”

“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. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education,” Kornbluth wrote.

A Trump administration spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

MIT was one of nine universities that were offered the “compact” because they were seen as “good actors.”

As part of the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” sent Oct. 1, institutions would have to: ban race or sex-based hiring and admissions; freeze tuition for five years; cap international undergrad enrollment at 15%; require that applicants take the SAT or a similar test; and reduce grade inflation.

Read more: Trump admin asks MIT, other universities to sign a ‘compact’ for a funding edge

In Kornbluth’s letter to the MIT community sent on Friday morning, she wrote that she understood that the compact was “on the minds of many of you and that you care deeply about the Institute’s mission, its values and each other. I do too.”

Kornbluth emphasized in her letter to the Trump administration that MIT prides itself on rewarding merit — such as reinstating the SAT/ACT requirement — opens its doors to students regardless of family finances — including offering free tuition to many students — and values free expression.

While Kornbluth said the compact meets or exceeds standards outlined by the Trump administration, she said there are other principles that are also outlined by the federal government that the institution disagrees with — including that funding should be on merit alone.

“The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution,” she said.

What was part of the compact?

Students who drop out in their first semester would have their tuition refunded and institutions would have to waive tuition for students looking at “hard science” programs if their endowments are more than $2 million per undergraduate student, according to the outlet.

An independent auditor would also need to be hired in order to determine how the institution is living up to the compact.

The compact also focuses on campus climate, and creating a better environment for conservatives, including ending departments that “purposefully punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

If an institution violates these terms, it would have to give back any federal funding that year and private contributions, according to the outlet.

While federal funding won’t be limited to these schools, they would be given an edge to large grant funding, according to the outlet.

The other institutions included Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, Brown University and the University of Virginia.

Brown and the University of Pennsylvania have signed deals with the Trump administration. Notably absent on the list is Columbia, which also penned a deal with the federal government in July.

Also not on the list is Harvard, which President Donald Trump claimed his administration reached a $500 million deal with the university on Tuesday, but quickly reversed course and told reporters that the federal government was “close to finalizing” the agreement.