Ivy League in the Crosshairs: Trump Targets Brown, Penn, and Dartmouth

Three Ivy League universities—Brown, Dartmouth, and the University of Pennsylvania—are among a select group of nine institutions targeted by a new, highly controversial White House proposal. The Trump administration is offering them a deal that pits financial incentives against academic independence, placing these historic pillars of American education at the center of a national firestorm over free speech and government overreach.
The “compact” presented to these schools demands significant concessions in exchange for federal grants. They must agree to champion conservative ideas on campus, end race-conscious admissions policies, and even eliminate entire academic departments that the administration considers hostile to its political worldview. These requirements strike at the core of the Ivy League’s long-held traditions of institutional autonomy and liberal arts inquiry.
The choice presented is stark and unforgiving. Compliance brings the promise of continued and perhaps increased federal funding, which is vital for the cutting-edge research conducted at these institutions. However, defiance carries the threat of a complete financial cutoff from the federal government, a prospect that would be devastating even for their large endowments.
This move is the latest escalation in what has become a contentious relationship between the Trump administration and elite higher education. The administration has frequently criticized Ivy League schools and other top universities for what it describes as pervasive liberal bias and an intolerance for dissenting views. This compact appears to be the administration’s most direct attempt yet to force these institutions to change.
The response from the broader academic community has been one of alarm, with leaders decrying the plan as a “hostile takeover.” As Brown, Penn, and Dartmouth deliberate on their next steps, their decisions will have far-reaching implications, not only for their own futures but for the relationship between the government and private and public universities across the country.