New College of Florida, which saw a conservative takeover under the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), on Monday became the first school to agree to the Trump administration’s funding compact offering gives preferential treatment in government grants.
The administration had originally send the agreement to nine schools, including Dartmouth College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University, but none of those institutions were willing to publicly sign on, citing dangers to their academic independence and in some cases, philosophical disagreements.
But a New College press release says it “will happily be the first college in America to formally embrace and sign President Trump’s vision for higher education.”
“As other colleges have rejected the compact, we see it as a bold step forward from the Trump administration that will help preserve America’s place as the world’s number one destination for higher education,” it added.
President Trump’s college compact says it will give colleges preferential treatment in federal funding decisions in exchange for pledges and agreements on oversight regarding its hiring, admissions and campus culture.
New College of Florida, once a progressive institution, has adopted conservative ideals after DeSantis replaced the college’s leadership with ideological allies.
While some have said some of the principles outlined in the compact deserve discussion, experts have argued the conditions infringe on academic freedom and institutional autonomy.
For New College, the compact seems to extend efforts it has already made to reshape the school’s reputation.
“New College of Florida is committed to the ideals present within this compact, and we have already been instituting them for the past two and a half years,” said school President Richard Corcoran.
“We have no affirmative action or DEI, and we have been building a campus where open dialogue and the marketplace of ideas are at the forefront of everything we do. We believe a student’s success comes from their character and their merit, not their race, gender, or sexual orientation, and we would be honored to sign the Trump administration’s compact,” he added.
