The White House offered funding benefits for several prominent colleges and universities if they signed a “Compact for Academic Excellence.”
Nine schools were invited to sign a “compact” where the universities would have to agree to ban the use of sex or race in the hiring process, steady tuition rates and issue refunds for students who dropped out of school their first semester, according to a story .
“A steadfast commitment to rigorous and meritocratic selection based on objective and measurable criteria in the appointment process is pivotal for the University’s sustained excellence,” .
“Consistent with the requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts and other federal employment discrimination statutes, no factor such as sex, ethnicity, race, national origin, disability, or religion shall be considered in any decision related to the appointment, advancement, or reappointment of academic, administrative, or support staff at any level, except as described in section 9 or otherwise provided by Title VII or other federal employment discrimination statutes,” it continues.
According to The Washington Examiner, the schools that received letters from the Trump administration with this offer include:
University of Southern California
Dartmouth College,
Vanderbilt University
Brown University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Arizona
University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia
University of Pennsylvania
The memo was sent Oct. 1 and would offer “positive benefits” from schools that signed the compact.
Some of the benefits the colleges would receive include “substantial” federal grants, invitations to White House events and conversations with officials in the administration.
If a school decides to sign the compact, has to agree to hire an auditor to conduct polling among students and staff in order to make sure the compact is being followed. The audit would then be reviewed by the Department of Justice.
As of the time of this post, no schools have agreed to sign the compact.