A college president is slamming President Donald Trump's political agenda, saying the top university "cannot support" it in exchange for federal funding.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is reportedly the first to reject and condemn Trump's dubious deal to nine universities, WSOC-TV reports Friday.
"In our view, America’s leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education," MIT President Sally Kornbluth wrote in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and White House officials.
Kornbluth pushed back on the administration's move to target free speech in higher education.
"The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution," she said. "And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
Trump has promised to prioritize nine universities for government funding if they agree to a litany of terms in his “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education," including capping the number of foreign admissions and cracking down on supposed targeting of conservatives.
He sent the 10-page proposal to MIT, University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, University of Texas, Vanderbilt, University of Virginia.
It's unclear why these schools were selected or how the list was comprised.
School leaders at the University of Texas have said they were honored to be invited to participate.
The other schools have not yet responded.