Arizona State University met with White House officials last Friday to discuss a proposal that could provide access to future federal funds.
The “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” intends to offer certain schools preferential federal funding.
In exchange, the school will need to agree to the conditions set by the Trump White House.
That includes eliminating race and sex from admissions decisions, accepting the federal government’s definition of a “man” and “woman” and ensuring “institutional neutrality” on campus, among other terms.
The Trump administration initially asked nine high-ranking universities to consider this proposal and give their decision by Oct 20.
Ahead of this deadline, Trump officials asked three more universities — Arizona State University, the University of Kansas and Washington University in St. Louis — to consider the compact and spoke with the representatives from these schools.
What is going on with ASU and U of A?
These latest additions come as the federal government tackles a wave of rejection for the Trump White House’s political priorities.
In response to its latest meeting with the White House, ASU told Arizona’s Family that it has a legacy of being “a voice for change in higher education.”
“As President Donald Trump’s team seeks new and innovative approaches to serve the needs of the country, ASU has engaged in dialogue and offered ideas about how to do so,” the statement added.
It’s unclear whether ASU will sign on to the proposal.
The University of Arizona, which was on the initial list, rejected the proposal on Monday.
“A federal research funding system based on anything other than merit would weaken the world’s preeminent engine for innovation, advancement of technology and solutions to many of our nation’s most profound challenges,” the statement from university president Suresh Garimella said.
“We seek no special treatment and believe in our ability to compete for federally funded research strictly on merit.”
Schools reject Trump’s compact agreement
The initial list of schools that received the compact letter included Vanderbilt University, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, University of Southern California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas, Brown University and University of Virginia.
Most of these schools rejected the Trump White House’s compact plan for higher education.
Trump wrote on social media earlier this month that “much of Higher Education has lost its ,and is now corrupting our youth and society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology.”
“Institutions that want to quickly return to the pursuit of Truth and Achievement” were “invited to enter into a forward looking Agreement with the Federal Government to help bring about the Golden Age of Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” he wrote shortly after MIT became the first school to reject the proposal.