College Matters from The Chronicle Obama to Colleges: WTF
Oct 15, 2025
In this discussion, Andy Thomason, assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education, delves into Barack Obama's call for college leaders to prioritize academic independence. They explore the potential impacts of the Trump administration's 'Compact for Academic Excellence,' which conditions funding on compliance with strict policies. The conversation examines how institutions like MIT resist political pressure while others, such as Columbia, yield under financial duress. The balancing act between personal risk and institutional survival takes center stage as they highlight the future of academic integrity.
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Obama's Test For College Leaders
- Barack Obama urged college leaders to protect academic independence even if it means losing federal funds.
- He framed potential financial pain as a sign you're doing the right thing for institutional autonomy.
The Trump Compact's Trade-Off
- The Trump administration offered a 10-page "compact" tying policy commitments to preferred federal research access.
- The compact asks universities to accept intrusive conditions on admissions, hiring, and speech in exchange for favor.
MIT Calls The Compact Anti‑Merit
- MIT's president Sally Kornbluth publicly rejected the compact and called it "anti-merit."
- She argued the compact would give political allies preferential treatment over scientific merit.