Wealthy People Have Always Shaped Universities. This Time Is Different. [ NYTimes ]

The flava:

The ultrawealthy have long lorded their money and might over university presidents, pelting them with ideas and demands, promises and threats.

Now they have an ally in the White House.

President Trump embraced a billionaire’s strategy to try to wring ideological concessions from universities. He blessed another’s role as Harvard University’s emissary for negotiations with the federal government. Yet another billionaire helped steer cuts at the Department of Education — which a different billionaire leads.

Mr. Trump’s approach represents a shift in how wealthy people are shaping higher education. Some of the moneyed voices Mr. Trump has elevated have, in the name of encouraging open debate, sought to expunge progressive orthodoxy from academia and tilt campuses rightward. And since Mr. Trump has taken office, the president and his allies have pursued an aggressive campaign to realize their vision, including reshaping the relationship between the federal government and the nation’s colleges and universities.

The campaign is accelerating. But it has been in the works for years.

The article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/us/billionaires-influence-universities-trump.html