CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia said some of the terms in the Trump administration's "Compact for Excellence in Higher Education" may be difficult for the 206-year-old school to adopt.
UVA is one of nine schools the Trump administration recently asked to comply with the agenda in its compact if they want to have better access to federal funding.
A document sent to the universities encourages them to adopt the White House’s vision for America’s campuses, asking them to accept the government’s priorities on admissions, women’s sports, free speech, student discipline and college affordability, among other topics.
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Interim President Paul Mahoney has formed a work group to study the compact and make a recommendation.
"It would be difficult for the University to agree to certain provisions in the Compact," said Rachel Sheridan with the UVA Board of Visitors. "We write to assure you that our response will be guided by the same principles of academic freedom and free inquiry that Thomas Jefferson placed at the center of the University's mission more than 200 years ago, and to which the University has remained faithful ever since."
Additionally, the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” asks universities to accept the government’s definition of gender and apply it to campus bathrooms, locker rooms and women’s sports teams. It asks colleges to stop considering race, gender and a wide range of other student demographics in the admissions process and to require undergraduate applicants to take the SAT or ACT.
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Other schools that received the letter are Vanderbilt, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas, the University of Arizona, and Brown University. It was not clear how these schools were selected or why, and whether similar offers might go out to other colleges.
UVA said it is also seeking feedback from its community via an online form.
