Local politicians circulated a memo on Friday proposing legislation to block Penn from signing the White House’s preferential funding compact.
Penn was one of nine schools approached on Wednesday with the agreement, which would require the University to adhere to specific guidelines related to admissions, hiring practices, pricing, and freedom of speech on campus in return for federal benefits. The Oct. 3 memo in response, authored by Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-181) and Rep. Rick Krajewski (D-188), condemned the compact as “another attempt” by the Trump administration to pressure universities “to comply with its political agenda.”
“For months, the Trump administration has weaponized education funding, placing significant pressure on America’s colleges and universities to comply with its political agenda, and this so-called compact is just another attempt to do so,” the elected officials wrote.
The representatives announced their intention to propose legislation that would “prohibit institutions that receive state funding from signing onto this compact or similar agreements.”
“Through this legislation, we will be preserving academic freedom and independence in Pennsylvania and protecting students and staff who would otherwise be negatively impacted by the compact proposed by the federal government,” the memo stated.
On Sunday, Penn President Larry Jameson confirmed the University received the document and would begin orchestrating its “review and response” to the proposal in an email to the Penn community.
In an Oct. 2 statement, California Gov. Gavin Newsom similarly vowed that a university that signed the agreement would lose “billions” in California state funding. The University of Southern California was among the nine schools presented with the document.
The Friday memo comes amid criticism of the White House document from other local and state politicians.
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In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Pa.) wrote that the Trump administration has “compounded and magnified” the “threat” to remove funding from universities by “tying funding decisions to revanchist positions on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
“Academic freedom has been under attack for years, and this order follows in those footsteps,” Saval stated.
He added that the compact would “disincentivize” universities from adopting “affirmative action on the basis of sex or race.”
“Penn would do right to refuse this Faustian bargain and work instead to support an inclusive, welcoming, and free environment for its students, faculty, and staff,” Saval continued.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier — whose district encompasses Penn and University City — also expressed concern about the compact’s implications for DEI initiatives, writing in a statement to the DP that the memo is the “continuation of a never-ending bombardment against diversity, democracy, and freedom of expression at Penn and beyond.”
Gauthier added that when Penn “caved to President Trump’s transphobic demands to strip Lia Thomas of her athletic accomplishments,” she believed that the move would “only invite more attacks.”
In March, the Trump administration froze $175 million in federal funding to Penn, claiming the University was in violation of NCAA policies for allowing the “participation of a transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team in 2022.” Following months of negotiation, the federal government released funding back to Penn in July after the University updated its swimming records, erasing three records set by Thomas.
“The only way to stop a bully is by standing up to them,” Gauthier wrote. “I am calling on Larry Jameson and the rest of the University of Pennsylvania’s leadership to do just that.”
Pennsylvania state Sen. Anthony Williams (D-8) — who previously expressed frustration with Penn’s widespread rollback of DEI initiatives — wrote that he is “very concerned” about Penn’s “engagement of policies that adversely affect African-Americans.”
Williams added that he is “not clear on the direction that the University of Penn takes in opposition to oppressive policies presented by the current administration.” He previously spoke out against Penn’s rollback of DEI programs before, criticizing the decision following a meeting with Penn administration in February and calling out Jameson’s absence from a Philadelphia City Hall meeting in May.
In a joint memo, Kenyatta and Krajewski wrote that the compact’s demands would “directly threaten the independence” of the named institutions.
In another joint statement to the DP, Krajewski and Gauthier called the compact a “thinly veiled play at extortion in pursuit of [Trump’s] authoritarian agenda.”
“Accepting these dollars would mean unprecedented policing and control of the curriculum and campus culture of universities like Penn,” they wrote. “This is not a peace offering, this is a hostile takeover.”
Senior Reporter Alex Dash contributed reporting.
