{"id":2419,"date":"2025-10-25T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thetoptenwebhosts.com\/?p=2419"},"modified":"2025-10-28T13:41:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T13:41:54","slug":"uva-secures-more-favorable-terms-in-deal-with-trump-compared-to-private-school-counterparts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thetoptenwebhosts.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/25\/uva-secures-more-favorable-terms-in-deal-with-trump-compared-to-private-school-counterparts\/","title":{"rendered":"UVA secures more favorable terms in deal with Trump compared to private school counterparts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of\u00a0Virginia (UVA) this past week\u00a0became the first public university to reach a deal<\/a> with the Trump administration, gaining\u00a0more favorable terms than other institutions in a\u00a0development that could show the winds are blowing in higher education\u2019s favor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UVA avoided the worst endured by Columbia University or\u00a0Brown University as it was not required to make multimillion dollar\u00a0payouts,\u00a0thought it\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0get off entirely free.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

To pause federal investigations, UVA agreed to adhere to the administration\u2019s\u00a0\u201cGuidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination,\u201d which\u00a0the Department of Justice says<\/a>\u00a0ensures\u00a0the\u00a0university\u2019s hiring, admissions or other processes\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0use \u201cunlawful racial discrimination.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

UVA will also\u00a0submit\u00a0quarterly reports to the Trump administration so it can ensure compliance with the agreement. Although the university avoided an outside monitor, the federal government gets to decide if what UVA is doing is enough to be in line with the deal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives the administration ‘sole discretion\u2019\u00a0to\u00a0determine\u00a0whether, in its view, these laws have been violated and to tie future funding to its determination. It puts UVA on a short leash and needs to be seen in a larger context in which the Administration is\u00a0seeking\u00a0to improperly interfere with the freedom schools have traditionally enjoyed relating to admissions, faculty\u00a0appointments\u00a0and the content of their teaching,\u201d\u00a0said Michael Posner,\u00a0director of the\u00a0Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University\u2019s Stern School of Business\u00a0and a former assistant secretary of State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The deal does note UVA will align itself with the Trump administration\u2019s interpretation of the 2023 Supreme Court decision<\/a>\u00a0on affirmative action\u00a0as long as\u00a0it is\u00a0\u201cconsistent with relevant judicial decisions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The federal investigations\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0completely end, either, until\u00a0UVA follows through on its promise to\u00a0eliminate\u00a0diversity,\u00a0equity\u00a0and inclusion (DEI) programs at the\u00a0institution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the quarterly updates, the overall deal has far fewer conditions<\/a>\u00a0than ones given to Columbia,\u00a0Brown\u00a0and\u00a0Penn\u00a0earlier in the year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each of those universities faces a multimillion-dollar\u00a0payout, with Columbia\u00a0hit\u00a0the hardest with\u00a0a $200\u00a0million fine to the federal government.\u00a0All the universities also agreed to\u00a0changes\u00a0in disciplinary policies\u00a0and other measures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although not\u00a0finalized, reports of a deal between Harvard and the Trump\u00a0administration\u00a0indicate\u00a0a $500 million payout\u00a0could come\u00a0from the university.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

UVA faces different circumstances with the Trump administration than several private\u00a0institutions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The private institutions were accused of letting antisemitism run rampant on their campuses after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. This issue has been subject to multiple congressional hearings, with Republicans calling for big punishments for institutions they believe are guilty of creating unsafe environments for Jewish students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For UVA, the trouble came around its alleged use of race in school processes the Trump administration\u00a0deemed\u00a0illegal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis agreement allows UVA to move forward together, upholding the University\u2019s principles and independence while maintaining the essential research partnership with the federal government,\u201d\u00a0said Rachel Sheridan, UVA board of visitors rector.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a challenging time for many institutions in higher education, including UVA. The agreement results from steadfast adherence to the same values that have guided generations of UVA\u2019s leaders and that we have honored as stewards of that legacy,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the months of\u00a0negotiations, UVA also made moves to\u00a0garner favor, including when President\u00a0James Ryan\u00a0stepped down from his position<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his statement about his departure, Ryan emphasized he saw his choices as staying to fight or potentially\u00a0costing the university millions of dollars in pulled funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there are very important principles at play here, I would at a very practical level be fighting to keep my job for one more year while knowingly and willingly sacrificing others in this community,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

People familiar with the situation\u00a0told The New York Times<\/a>\u00a0earlier this\u00a0week\u00a0that Ryan\u2019s resignation went a long way toward UVA securing a better deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UVA officials are\u00a0also\u00a0crediting new interim President Paul Mahoney.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Mahoney has navigated a complex federal landscape with remarkable skill and care,\u201d said Brie Gertler, interim executive vice president and provost. \u201cI am grateful for his thoughtful leadership throughout this important process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some wonder if the administration is losing some leverage with higher education institutions after recent missteps.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The most recent move by the Trump administration was a college compact sent to nine universities<\/a>, including UVA, that offered preferential funding\u00a0treatment\u00a0in exchange for certain policy changes the federal\u00a0government\u00a0wants to see in higher education.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seven universities, including UVA, outright rejected the compact, although UVA cited different concerns such as how funding needs to be based on merit and not\u00a0deals\u00a0with the\u00a0federal government.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think,\u00a0putting this in context with this latest effort by Trump and [Secretary of Education] Linda McMahon to get universities to sign on to this compact, we see that universities are starting to push back and say\u00a0\u2018we’re not going to engage with this sort of stuff,’\u201d said\u00a0Jonathan Becker, associate professor of education leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“If this is a battle between the federal government and institutions of higher education, the momentum was swinging towards the institutions,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Updated Oct. 27 at 1:37 p.m. EDT<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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