The Great Dome on the MIT Campus.
Eric Baetscher, CC BY-SA 3.0
Colleges reject Trump higher-ed compact
A majority of the 9 universities invited by the Trump administration to signal the so-called Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education
had up to now rejected the provide as of Monday morning. The compact promised universities preferential entry to federal funds in alternate for commitments to a variety of working rules, together with sustaining “institutional neutrality.” The Trump administration requested establishments to reply to the provide by Oct. 20.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Brown University,
the University of Southern California,
the University of Pennsylvania,
the University of Virginia
and Dartmouth University
have all up to now rejected the provide. MIT President Sally Kornbluth was the primary to say no, telling Education Secretary Linda McMahon in a letter that “fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.” Others echoed this sentiment, reaffirming their commitments to core institutional values resembling educational freedom and honest admissions processes.
On Oct. 12, President Trump opened up the provide to all increased training establishments in a Truth Social post.
The establishments included within the unique provide that had not but rejected it have been reportedly
invited to a gathering on Friday afternoon. The assembly invite was additionally prolonged to Arizona State University, the University of Kansas, and Washington University in St. Louis.
At the time of publication, no college had but agreed to the compact, although there are indications the University of Texas at Austin was contemplating it, with Chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, Kevin Eltife, saying he was “honored” that the establishment had been chosen for potential funding benefits. UT school and college students have expressed opposition
to the college becoming a member of the compact.
Judge halts shutdown RIFs
A federal decide in San Francisco has quickly blocked
the Trump administration from conducting a mass firing of federal workers throughout the federal government shutdown. Judge Susan Illston sided with labor unions representing federal workers final week, saying the administration’s use of reduction-in-force notices throughout a shutdown is transparently politically motivated and certain a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The Trump administration has issued greater than 4,000 RIF notices to federal workers for the reason that shutdown started on Oct. 1.
For now, the administration could not implement any RIFs to packages that make use of union members or challenge extra such RIFs. Defendants got two enterprise days to reveal particulars on all “actual or imminent” RIFs, that are now available
within the court docket docket. A listening to on the case is scheduled to happen on Oct. 28.
In her written opinion, Illston said it’s “far from normal for an administration to fire line-level civilian employees during a government shutdown as a way to punish the opposing political party. But that is precisely what President Trump has announced he is doing.”
Meanwhile in Congress, the Senate failed to pass
a unbroken decision invoice to quickly fund the federal government for the tenth time final week. Senate Democrats additionally voted Thursday to block
the fiscal 12 months 2026 protection appropriations invoice, as a substitute pushing for a broader deal to resolve the shutdown.
Also final week, the Pentagon reportedly stuffed its $8 billion payroll for troops by tapping into unspecified R&D funds
following an order
from President Trump. The Senate is scheduled to satisfy this week to vote
on laws to maintain paying the navy and different federal employees who’re required to maintain working in the course of the shutdown.
Harvard analysis funding restored
Harvard University has now recovered most of its federal analysis grants that have been cancelled by the Trump administration, The Boston Globe
stories. Earlier this 12 months, the Trump administration froze greater than $2.6 billion {dollars} in analysis grants to Harvard, citing considerations that the establishment had didn’t adequately address
antisemitism on campus — a cost the college has denied. A federal decide ruled
on Sept. 3 that the funding freeze was unlawful and ordered the Trump administration to revive the funding. It was unclear
how lengthy the reinstatement of funds would take given the federal government shutdown.
While most of Harvard’s analysis grants have now been reinstated, Harvard School of Public Health Dean Andrea Baccarelli despatched an e mail final week urging school to stay cautious about hiring “given continued uncertainty and the potential for funds to be disrupted again,” in keeping with reporting by The Harvard Crimson.
Harvard final week reported an operating loss
of $113 million in fiscal 12 months 2025 as of June, with University President Alan Garber reportedly describing the 12 months as “extraordinarily challenging, with political and economic disruption affecting many sectors, including higher education.”
Also on our radar
- NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab laid off 550 individuals final week. JPL Director Dave Gallagher mentioned in a statement
that the most recent RIF was a part of a “reorganization” that started in July and is unrelated to the federal government shutdown. JPL laid off lots of more employees
final 12 months in response to Mars Sample Return mission funding cuts. JPL’s employees has shrunk by roughly a 3rd previously two years, the Los Angeles Times
stories. - The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will consider
the nomination of Timothy Petty to be deputy NOAA administrator
on Wednesday. Petty beforehand served as assistant secretary for water and science
on the Department of the Interior, overseeing USGS in the course of the first Trump administration. - DOE undersecretary Wells Griffith
has been ousted from his position, reportedly on account of a battle between DOE leaders and the White House over cuts to clean energy grants.
Griffith was confirmed in July and his tasks included oversight of varied power expertise demonstration and deployment packages. Alex Fitzsimmons has been named acting undersecretary.
- Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt have been awarded the Nobel Prize
in Economic Sciences for his or her work on how innovation and expertise drive financial development.