White House Asks Vanderbilt to Align Policies for Funding Advantages

Vanderbilt University is one of nine institutions targeted by the White House for financial incentives in exchange for its compliance with certain Trump administration policies. 

A 10-point memo called the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” was sent to several elite universities across the U.S., as first reported by The Wall Street Journal and according to multiple outlets. If signed, the offer would give the schools privileged access to federal funds as long as they align certain operating policies with White House guidelines noted in the document.

Policies include those related to campus politics, banning the use of race or sex in hiring and admissions processes, a five-year tuition freeze, an international undergraduate enrollment cap and requiring applicants to take the SAT or ACT. Among other requirements are those ensuring the universities apply the government’s definition of gender when it comes to bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams on campus, according to the Associated Press. 

The compact seeks to reinforce “a vibrant marketplace of ideas on campus,” The Wall Street Journal reports, and asks the colleges to slash departments and university functions that “purposefully punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

In a post on social media platform X, Vanderbilt University confirms that the school received the compact. “We look forward to carefully reviewing the compact and providing meaningful feedback to the administration,” the post reads. 

Other universities eyed by the administration for the compact are Dartmouth College, the University of Arizona, Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas and the University of Virginia. 

May Mailman, senior adviser for special projects at the White House, tells The Wall Street Journal that the chosen schools were selected because they were regarded as “good actors.” 

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“They have a president who is a reformer or a board that has really indicated they are committed to a higher-quality education,” Mailman says. 

The offer comes as the Trump administration has targeted top schools with funding cuts due to what they believe are liberal ideologies. U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn attacked Vanderbilt University Medical Center earlier this year for allegedly “concealing” its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives following a Trump order to scrap related programs. Federal funding cuts prompted hundreds of layoffs at VUMC this summer that subsequently gutted an LGBTQ health program. 

New state laws have mirrored the White House’s approach to DEI crackdowns, including those that prohibit state and local governments from maintaining offices or hiring practices that use "discriminatory preferences in an effort to increase diversity, equity or inclusion.” Metro Nashville recently scaled back DEI initiatives as a result. The laws also led Metro Nashville Public Schools to strike references to DEI in its district policy. 

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.