Overview

• President Sally Kornbluth’s letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon cites threats to free expression, institutional independence, and the principle that research grants should be awarded on scientific merit.
• The 10-point memo offers priority consideration for federal grants and other benefits to schools that adopt measures such as capping international undergraduate enrollment, banning race or sex in admissions and hiring, and adopting government definitions of gender.
• Other invited institutions, including Brown, Dartmouth, USC, Vanderbilt, the University of Arizona, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, and the University of Texas system, said they are reviewing the proposal, with feedback due Oct. 20 and final decisions by Nov. 21.
• State officials have warned of consequences for signatories, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Virginia Senate Democratic leaders threatening to withhold state funding, and UVA’s leadership and faculty signaling strong opposition to the compact.
• Legal scholars argue the plan likely clashes with the unconstitutional-conditions doctrine and First Amendment protections by conditioning government benefits on viewpoint-based restrictions and compelled institutional policies.