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The Trump administration asked nine universities to sign onto a compact of operational principles in exchange for a federal funding advantage.
Credit: Jesse Zhang
This story is developing and will continue to be updated.
Penn is one of nine schools that the White House approached on Wednesday requesting adherence to a set of principles in order to receive preferential funding treatment, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The memo demanded that the universities “ban the use of race or sex in hiring and admissions, freeze tuition for five years, cap international undergraduate enrollment at 15%, [and] require that applicants take the SAT or a similar test,” according to WSJ. In exchange, the higher education institutions that sign the agreement will get “multiple positive benefits,” including “substantial and meaningful federal grants,” according to WSJ.
A University spokesperson declined The Daily Pennsylvanian’s request for comment. A request for comment was left with the White House.
White House Senior Advisor for Special Projects May Mailman attributed the school’s selection to their commitment to “a higher quality education,” adding that each has “a president who is a reformer.”
Mailman previously told the DP that Penn set a positive tone during negotiations with the federal government this summer by recognizing it had an “unavoidable need for a relationship” with agencies in Washington. The University’s understanding and ability to “have a conversation like adults” earned it a place on the government’s “listening side,” Mailman said in July.
That month, Penn reached a resolution agreement with the Department of Education to settle ongoing Title IX violations.
As part of the resolution, the University has removed 2022 College graduate and former Penn swimmer Lia Thomas’ individual records, issued a public statement specifying that Penn Athletics “will adopt biology-based definitions for the words ‘male’ and ‘female’ pursuant to Title IX and consistent with President Trump’s Executive Orders,” and privately apologized to affected athletes.
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