Victories for Higher Education: Ending Gender Extremism and Cutting Underused Programs

The Trump Administration is changing the culture in higher education. Just over a year ago, we saw men claiming victories in women’s athletics. Colleges and universities were focused more on diversity, equity, and inclusion than ensuring graduates were prepared for success in life after graduation. Institutions required DEI statements from faculty and held segregated affinity graduation ceremonies for students. Academic standards fell, admissions were skewed to favor race over merit, and students graduated with a massive pile of debt and degrees that led to no job prospects. Today, institutions of higher education are changing the game because President Trump is bringing back America’s Golden Age — shifting the culture and restoring our nation’s institutions to greatness. Ending Gender Extremism and Cutting Underused Programs: Institutions are reinvesting funding into workforce-oriented and high-need programs while consolidating low-value programs that do not justify high costs spent in pursuit of that degree. Universities are closing their women’s and gender studies programs due to increasing employer concerns about the lack of workforce-benefiting skills. Examples include East Carolina University, New College of Florida, Texas A&M University, Towson University, the University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Iowa, the University of Toledo, and Wichita State University. At least 20 university-affiliated hospitals have ended or suspended puberty blockers and hormone therapies, gender transition surgeries, or transgender “care” for minors. The full list includes Denver Health, Children’s Hospital (University of Colorado), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Lurie Children’s Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital), NYU Langone Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Penn State Health, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, Stanford Medicine, University of Chicago Medicine (UI Health), University of Illinois (Chicago) Health, University of Michigan Health, University of Southern California (CHLA’s Center for Transyouth Health and Development), University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine), University of Pittsburg Medical Center (UPMC), University of Utah Health, UVA Health, University of Wisconsin Health, Yale New Haven Health, Virginia Commonwealth University Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond. The State University System of Florida decided to eliminate 18 academic programs due to low enrollment numbers. Most of the 18 programs slated for elimination are bachelor’s degrees in programs such as African American Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and gerontology. Indiana, Ohio, and Utah passed laws this past year pushing institutions to eliminate degree programs that graduate few students annually over a three-year period, with an option to appeal to keep the program. Texas passed a similar law requiring institutions to review minors and certificate programs with low enrollments every five years.