Conservative influences pushing for transformation in universities across the nation are steadily growing in momentum, surpassing even the prestigious Harvard University.
In a series of developments, conservative leadership appointments and policy changes are actively reshaping university governance in several states, with Virginia serving as a prime example. Governor Glenn Youngkin has appointed political activists, GOP donors, and former Republican officials to university boards of visitors, causing tensions with faculty and leading to leadership changes such as the resignation of the University of Virginia president Jim Ryan.
At the national level, the Manhattan Institute has called for a new “contract” between the federal government and universities, emphasizing universities prioritizing "truth over ideology," merit-based decision-making, ending direct institutional political activism, abolishing DEI bureaucracies, enforcing freedom of speech in practice, and transparency on admissions and ideological climate. This proposed contract suggests a more centralized federal control approach aligned with conservative critiques of academia.
While the search does not offer detailed state-specific governance changes for Indiana, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Texas, Idaho, and Wisconsin, the patterns suggest a broader conservative push to exert political influence on university boards and administration in multiple states. This trend could be paralleled in other Republican-led states through similar appointments and policy moves aimed at reshaping university leadership and curbing progressive or activist campus policies.
In Virginia, the boards are seen as leaning heavily toward Trump-aligned conservatives, provoking faculty pushback and governance battles. Meanwhile, in Indiana, current Governor Mike Braun replaced the removed trustees with his own choices. In Ohio, a new law bans DEI programs at public colleges and universities and strips faculty of certain collective bargaining rights and tenure protections.
In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed bills that impose new limits on student protests and give gubernatorial-appointed boards new powers to control the curriculum and eliminate degree programs. In Iowa, the board that governs the state's three public universities is considering imposing similar restrictions as Idaho.
The clash at Harvard University represents the most prominent case of government influence on a university, private or public. The Trump administration froze billions of dollars in federal funding for the university as it seeks policy changes, and Harvard has since filed lawsuits against the administration's moves.
State officials have also sought to reduce the power of faculty members and students. Indiana's attorney general, Todd Rokita, has sent letters to several universities questioning the legality of their DEI programs. The University of Florida rejected longtime academic Santa Ono for the presidency, following criticism from conservatives about his past support for DEI programs.
In response, defenders of academic freedom see threats on several fronts, including from state and federal governments. There are few guardrails limiting how far oversight boards can change public institutions, making it crucial for advocates to monitor these developments closely.
Amidst these changes, conservative colleges and universities, often religious or military institutions, continue to attract students seeking environments aligned with conservative values. A 21-year-old transgender and nonbinary individual, who initially got into Harvard for graduate school, chose to attend the University of Texas in Austin instead due to the Trump administration's targeting of the institution.
Ken Beckley, a former head of Indiana University's alumni association, rallied fellow graduates to prevent the removal of alumni-elected members from the university's Board of Trustees, underscoring the importance of maintaining diverse representation in university governance.
These changes mainly focus on board reshaping, limiting DEI programs, enforcing stricter free speech norms, and reducing institutional political activism. As these trends continue to unfold, it remains to be seen how universities will adapt and maintain their core principles of academic freedom and diversity.
- Amidst considerable education-and-self-development discussions, there has been a push for universities to prioritize "truth over ideology," end direct institutional political activism, and abolish DEI bureaucracies, which suggests a more centralized federal control approach, aligning with conservative critiques of academia (Manhattan Institute's proposed contract).
- Beyond Virginia, conservative politics have led to various state-specific changes in university governance, such as appointing political activists and former Republican officials to boards (Indiana, Ohio), banning DEI programs (Ohio), and imposing new limits on student protests and controlling curriculum (Texas, Iowa), thereby influencing the political landscape of general news related to education and self-development.
