The Great Unraveling: How Trump’s Compact Could Dismantle the Modern University

The Trump administration’s 10-point “compact” is not just a plan for reform; it is a blueprint for the great unraveling of the modern American university. Each of its key provisions targets and seeks to dismantle a core pillar of the institutional model that has defined higher education for the past several decades.
First, it attacks the pillar of diversity. By banning race-conscious admissions and capping international students, the compact seeks to unravel the commitment to creating a pluralistic and global learning environment. It aims to replace this with a more homogeneous and nationalistic student body.
Second, it attacks the pillar of scholarly autonomy. By demanding the scrapping of entire academic departments based on political criteria, it unravels the principle that faculty and scholars, not government officials, should determine the content of the curriculum. It replaces academic freedom with ideological management.
Third, it attacks the pillar of institutional governance. By imposing tuition freezes and dictating endowment spending, it unravels the university’s ability to manage its own financial affairs. It replaces the authority of presidents and boards with the centralized control of federal bureaucrats.
Taken together, these measures represent a systematic effort to deconstruct the modern, liberal, internationalist university and replace it with something new: a more compliant, politically managed, and insular institution. Critics argue that this unraveling would not be a step forward, but a devastating regression that would leave American higher education weaker, less dynamic, and less respected.