The University of Arizona announced this week that it will not sign onto a White House proposal offering increased federal funding in exchange for changes to campus policies.
The decision came after Representative Greg Stanton encouraged UA President Suresh Garimella to reject the agreement in early October.
Stanton called the proposal "an unprecedented intrusion into higher education" and expressed concern it could affect the university's ability to make independent decisions.
Following UA's announcement, Stanton thanked the university on X, stating that ”Arizona universities exist to serve students, not political agendas.”
The Letters
The White House sent letters to nine universities on October 1, asking them to make several changes to their policies.
These included removing consideration of sex and race from admissions decisions, evaluating faculty members' viewpoints, and closing down campus programs that the administration views as unfriendly to conservative ideas.
President Suresh Garimella's response acknowledged some common ground with the administration's goals but raised concerns about one key issue.
He emphasized that federal research funding should be awarded based solely on the quality of the research, not other factors.
"A federal research funding system based on anything other than merit would weaken the world's preeminent engine for innovation," Garimella wrote.
UA’s Principles
Instead of signing the agreement, Garimella shared UA's own set of principles. He highlighted changes the university has already made, including cutting administrative costs by 22 percent, keeping tuition flat for Arizona students, and promoting respectful dialogue on campus.
The principles note that UA already has policies against discrimination in admissions based on race, sex, religion, and other characteristics.
Seven universities have now declined the White House offer, which includes MIT, Penn, Brown, USC, Dartmouth, UVA, and UA. Other schools, including Arizona State University, the University of Kansas, and Washington University in St. Louis, are still reviewing the proposal.
Garimella expressed hope that universities and the federal government can continue working together while maintaining each institution's independence.
