The Next Era of the American University

On first appraisal, the nine universities that the Trump administration singled out appeared to have no real choice but to concede to the administration’s demands. As set forth in the so-called Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, these include an oath to abide by the White House’s biological theories of gender and to show respect for “conservative” (but not liberal or centrist) values. Framed as a question of who is first in line for federal funding, the compact warns that nonconforming universities will have to go their own way fiscally. Such threats have bite because about half of universities’ $102 billion in annual research spending today flows from the federal budget. Federal Student Aid provides about $120.8 billion in grants, work-study programs, and loans to studen