Duke University Cut $299 Million through Buyouts, Building Closures in Response to Federal Cuts
Seyun Park | 30 December 2025 | AP News
Following his inauguration in January, U.S. President Donald Trump brought along a new team of advisers and a playbook for higher education. The administration unleashed a slew of demands on colleges and universities in what has been seen by higher education leaders as an “overreach” on academic freedom by the federal government.
At the forefront of top political adviser Stephen Miller, Trinity ’07, and Trump’s agenda was mandating universities axe diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, limit international student enrollment and decrease their reliance on federally funded research. The administration also changed student loan policies, cut Medicaid reimbursement rates and increased the tax rate universities would have to pay on their endowment…