Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus commends Penn for rejecting Trump’s funding compact
Rep. Napoleon Nelson October 17, 2025 | 10:05 AM
HARRISBURG, Oct. 17 - The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, chaired by state Rep. Napoleon Nelson, D-Montgomery, released the following statement on the University of Pennsylvania’s rejection of President Donald Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”
“The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus commends University of Pennsylvania President Larry Jameson on his formal rejection of the Trump administration’s ‘Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.’ This compact was not about academic excellence. It was a bribe. It was an opportunity for America’s colleges and universities to sell their soul, their mission, the wellness of their student body, and their academic freedoms to the president in exchange for ‘preferential funding.’
“The compact, already rejected by MIT and Brown University, is a dangerous expansion of federal overreach from an administration that has already pledged themselves to shutter the Department of Education, and, even in its rejection, should be remembered for the audacity of its premise.
“President Jameson, we thank you for heeding the voices of students and faculty on campus as well as the state and city lawmakers who called on you to reject this compact and resist the president’s Faustian bargain. The challenges faced recently are not over. We look forward to more productive and proactive conversations with you and your leadership team to keep Pennsylvania’s students and higher education institutions safe for intellectual exploration, artistic expression and self-discovery.