AZ Senate president urges University of Arizona to join Trump’s new higher-ed reform compact

Arizona senate president Warren Petersen is urging the University of Arizona to take advantage of an opportunity from President Donald Trump’s administration to be one of nine initial signatories of the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.

In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Petersen encouraged University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella and Arizona Board of Regents Chair Doug Goodyear to become one of the nine initial signatories.

"I am writing to strongly encourage you to take advantage of the incredible opportunity you have been presented by the Trump Administration to be one of nine initial signatories of the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education (the "Compact")," Petersen wrote in the letter sent to the University of Arizona Wednesday.

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Arizona senate president Warren Petersen is urging the University of Arizona to take advantage of an opportunity from President Donald Trump’s administration to be one of nine initial signatories of the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. (Joel Angel Juarez/The Republic/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Signatories of the compact receive preferential access to federal funding, and recently Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) became the first university to reject signing the compact, with MIT President Sally Kornbluth saying that the university "cannot support the proposed approach," and adding that it "includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution." 

The Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education calls for equality in admissions, and a commitment to civil discourse, asking signers to "commit themselves to revising governance structures as necessary to create such an environment, including but not limited to transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas." 

"This is an opportunity to bring in additional resources to the University of Arizona and build upon the progress that our state universities have made to produce some of the top talent in our nation—students who in turn bring innovation and business to our state," Petersen wrote.

It also calls for nondiscrimination in faculty and administrative hiring, institutional neutrality, student equality, saying that students must "be treated as individuals and not on the basis of their immutable characteristics, with due exceptions for sex-based privacy, safety, and fairness" and financial responsibility, outlining that schools that receive federal funding should make it their responsibility to cut administrative costs "as far as reasonably possible and streamline or eliminate academic programs that fail to serve students." 

It also asks signers to freeze tuition rates for American students for the next five years. 

"A commitment to freezing tuition for five years is beneficial to prospective students and to Arizonans generally," Petersen wrote. "As stated in the Compact, it would also encourage our universities to 'reduce administrative costs... and streamline or eliminate academic programs that fail to serve students.’ And importantly, the Arizona Constitution requires that the instruction from our state universities be provided for ‘as nearly free as possible.’"

The compact directs universities to be free from foreign entanglements and comply with anti-money laundering laws and disclose foreign gifts and contracts.  

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The Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education calls for equality in admissions, and a commitment to civil discourse, asking signers to "commit themselves to revising governance structures as necessary to create such an environment, including but not limited to transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas."  (Elina Shirazi)

"Our universities should be seeking out the most qualified individuals to provide that instruction, and those individuals’ qualifications should be assessed based on merit," Petersen wrote. "Likewise, students seeking to enter our universities should be encouraged to work hard and to study hard. Students should know that their admission to our universities is not based on immutable characteristics, but rather on their dedication and commitment to their education."

The letter also encourages the Arizona Board of Regents to adopt a policy that safeguards freedom of expression and speech, as well as protecting fairness in women’s sports, and cutting tuition costs. 

The Department of Education referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s Sunday Truth Social post in which the president criticized universities for becoming "corrupting" influences on students.

"Throughout most of our History, America’s Colleges and Universities have been a Great Strategic Asset of the United States," Trump wrote. "Tragically, however, much of Higher Education has lost its way, and is now corrupting our Youth and Society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology that serves as justification for discriminatory practices by Universities that are Unconstitutional and Unlawful. My Administration is fixing this, and FAST, with our Great Reform Agenda in Higher Education."

Fox News Digital reached out to the University of Arizona for comment. 

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President Donald Trump’s Sunday Truth Social post criticized universities for becoming "corrupting" influences on students. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)