News

University leaders and stakeholders are taking a cautious approach to the Trump administration’s latest efforts to reform higher education, made in an open letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

I have a series of posts in the pipeline here, but today wanted to write about a current event.

KU Chancellor Doug Girod was among four university chancellors and presidents who helped U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon draft an open letter asking U.S. universities to publicly commit to seven “statements of principle,” including hiring faculty “of all relevant perspectives.”

“If at first you don’t succeed . . .” The Trump administration is at it again.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s letter contains some similarities to a compact offered to and rejected by a small group of schools last year.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon called on college leaders to publicly commit to major policy reforms by the end of the year, ranging from adopting clear admissions criteria to hiring faculty who have a range of perspectives.

Ten months after the Trump administration failed to win widespread buy-in for its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” it has posted a new, seemingly gentler version for colleges to endorse.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday urged colleges to publicly commit to sweeping policy reforms by the end of the year, calling for greater transparency, clearer admissions policies and broader faculty viewpoints to rebuild public trust in higher education.