Saint Augustine University Is First HBCU To Support Trump Administration’s Academic Program

The compact has outraged civil rights groups, higher education associations, and academic freedom experts.

Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) is the first HBCU to publicly support the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.

As Campus Reform pointed out, Ivy League schools such as Brown and Dartmouth have rejected the compact, and many other schools remain undecided. However, in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital, the school has expressed interest in participating in the program.

“As one of the nation’s oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities, with a 158-year legacy of expanding educational opportunity and transforming lives, we support the Compact’s broad goal of strengthening academic excellence, accountability, and transparency across American higher education,” the letter says.

Verjanis Peoples, the interim president of St. Augustine’s, and Sophie Gibson, chair of the school’s board of trustees, reportedly signed the letter.

What To Know About The Compact

Earlier this year, the Trump administration initially asked nine universities to review the proposal and offer “limited targeted feedback” by Oct. 20 on a wide-ranging plan that would give them preferential funding if they enacted several policy changes. Before all nine had provided feedback, President Trump invited all colleges that were interested in returning to the “pursuit of Truth and Achievement” to sign the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.

Six of the nine original institutions rejected the deal, Inside Higher Ed reported. The compact would require schools to ban consideration of race or sex in hiring or admissions processes; freeze tuition for five years; limit international undergraduate enrollment to 15% of the student body; commit to institutional neutrality; require applicants to take standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT; define and interpret “male,” “female,” and “man,” according to reproductive function; shut down departments that “spark violence against conservative ideas,” and more.

The compact outraged civil rights groups, higher education associations, and academic freedom experts.

“It really strikes at the fundamentals of higher education, and that is why you’re seeing such a vocal response,” Adam Harris, a senior fellow with the education policy program at New America, told Inside Higher Ed. “This is the executive branch trying to circumvent and go around Congress, like, plain and simple … to change the agreement with higher education.”

A Conflict of Interest Between Saint Augustine’s and the Trump Administration?

In its letter to the Trump administration, Saint Augustine’s recognized the challenges posed by the compact for HBCUs, including the ban on race-conscious admissions and on international partnerships.

But the university is in a tough spot, continuing to face an uphill battle with its finances. The school recently secured a preliminary injunction to maintain accreditation after losing it earlier this year, as legal proceedings continue. The university previously lost its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) due, in part, to its financial crisis.

The IRS has filed multiple tax liens against the university, totaling nearly $10 million, with one lien alone for approximately $7.9 million for unpaid taxes dating back to 2020.

Still, SAU leaders claim they see alignment between the compact’s goals and their mission of academic excellence and transparency.

“We fully support efforts to raise the bar on academic excellence nationwide, but those efforts must recognize the unique role HBCUs play in expanding opportunity,” the letter reads. “Saint Augustine’s University is eager to collaborate on a grant that is rigorous, mission-aligned, and reflective of America’s diverse higher education landscape.”