MIT on Friday rejected a proposal from the Trump administration that would have rewarded the school for adhering to priorities set by the administration around admissions, speech and education costs.
According to a letter from MIT President Sally Kornbluth, the school already exceeds some metrics proposed in the compact's language.
"The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone," Kornbluth wrote in the letter to the MIT community.
"In our view, America’s leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences."
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The compact proposed by the White House asks nine universities, including MIT, to follow education priorities set by President Donald Trump as his administration investigates what it calls civil rights violations at campuses across the country. In exchange, the schools would enjoy easier access to federal education funding.
Schools would have to adhere to definitions of gender set by the government in the context of campus bathrooms and women's sports. Colleges would also refrain from weighing race, gender and other demographics as admissions criteria.
Schools that met the criteria would receive "substantial and meaningful federal grants" and "increased overhead payments where feasible," the administration said.
