Has the Trump administration offered the University of Arizona funding incentives to scale back DEI, restrict international students and follow its preferred policy agenda?

Yes.

In October 2025, the Trump administration issued a memo titled “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” offering preferential funding incentives to nine universities—including the University of Arizona—if they agreed to a series of sweeping policy changes. The memo calls on  universities to eliminate race- and gender-based initiatives, define “men” and “women” according to “reproductive function” and dismantle programs the administration deems “ideologically biased,” including DEI offices.

Throughout his second term, Trump has moved aggressively to bring universities in line with his administration’s ideology, restricting DEI funding, rescinding affirmative action and threatening federal reviews for institutions that don’t comply.

At the University of Arizona, some changes are already underway. In February, the phrase “committed to diversity and inclusion” was removed from the university’s land acknowledgement. In May, UA announced plans to consolidate its seven cultural centers into a single multicultural hub.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.

Sources

• Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, Trump Administration
• President Trump’s Executive Orders (EOs) and Actions Impacting Higher Education, American Council on Education
• It's official: U of A will consolidate cultural centers, Arizona Daily Star
• UA land acknowledgement drops DEI Language, The Daily Wildcat