The White House has strategically selected nine prominent universities to receive its controversial “compact” offer, a list that includes a mix of Ivy League, private, and public institutions. The nine are: Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, Brown University, and the University of Virginia.
According to a senior White House adviser, these institutions were chosen because they are considered “good actors” with reform-minded leadership. This suggests the administration believes these specific universities may be more receptive to its agenda than their peers. The list is notable for who is on it—and who is not. For example, Harvard, which has sued the administration, and Columbia, which has already settled a dispute, are absent.
The selection seems designed to create maximum impact. It includes some of the most prestigious and influential names in American higher education (MIT, Penn, Brown). By targeting them, the administration ensures the proposal will dominate headlines and force a national conversation. The inclusion of major public universities like UT Austin and UVA also signals that the plan is intended for the entire sector, not just the coastal private elites.
Geographic diversity also appears to be a factor, with schools from the Northeast (Dartmouth, Brown, MIT, Penn), the South (Vanderbilt, UVA, UT Austin), and the West (USC, Arizona). This broad reach prevents the issue from being dismissed as a purely regional conflict and underscores the national scope of the administration’s ambitions.
Ultimately, these nine universities have been thrust into the role of unwitting test subjects for a radical new vision of higher education. Their individual and collective responses to being targeted will be a defining moment, not only for their own institutions but for the future relationship between the government and academia in the United States.