MIT refuses to accept White House terms for funding, other schools still mulling

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. More big-name universities thumb their noses at Trump's 'extortion agreement'

trump's attempt to extort these universities is failing

More big-name universities thumb their noses at Trump's 'extortion agreement'

— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) 2025-10-16T23:57:20.000Z

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-college-2674207008/

Three more leading US universities have joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in rejecting President Donald Trump’s compact that critics have condemned as an “extortion agreement” and “loyalty oath” for federal funding.

Brown University’s Wednesday decision and Thursday announcements from the University of Southern California and the University of Pennsylvania came ahead of the Trump administration’s Oct. 20 deadline for the nine initially invited schools to respond to the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”

Although the University of Texas said it was “honored” to receive the offer, it has not officially signed on to the compact to receive priority access to federal funding and other “benefits.” Neither has any of the other institutions: the University of Arizona, Dartmouth College, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Virginia.

Bloomberg reported Monday that “a few days after MIT rebuffed the proposal, the administration extended the offering to all higher education institutions,” citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter.

Brown’s president, Christina Paxson, released her full letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and other Trump officials on Wednesday. She pointed out that “on July 30, Brown signed a voluntary resolution agreement with the government that advances a number of the high-level principles articulated in the compact, while maintaining core tenets of academic freedom and self-governance that have sustained the excellence of American higher education across generations.”