by James A. Bacon

The Trump administration has thrown the U.S. higher-ed sector into a blind panic by directing institutions to dismantle their DEI programs and limiting the percentage of federally funded research grants that can be applied to overhead.

But you ain’t seen nothing yet, John Tomasi, president of the Heterodox Academy, told attendees of the Alumni Free Speech Alliance (AFSA) today at its annual conference in Charlotte, N.C.

The administration has several other levers to pull, including rewriting the rules for student loans, taxing endowments, and tightening immigration standards for overseas students, Tomasi said.

“They’re just getting started,” he said. “Armageddon is coming.”

Under pressure from the Trump administration, the boards of visitors at Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, George Mason University, and Virginia Commonwealth University have voted to eliminate their DEI programs. These and other institutions are also scrambling to adapt to an executive order restricting overhead to 15% of a federal research grant. Because most universities siphon off much larger percentages to cover their overhead costs, the order blows holes of millions of dollars in university budgets. UVA has already begun reviewing all new hires, capital projects, pay raises and bonuses.

AFSA is a coalition of about 25 alumni organizations devoted to reforming their alma maters. Representatives of UVA, Washington & Lee University, and the Virginia Military Institute were in attendance.

As head of Heterodox, Tomasi has criticized wokism in academia and championed free speech, academic freedom and intellectual diversity. At the same time, he counseled conference attendees to work within the system in their efforts to reform the universities.

He did not give a detailed explanation of his reasons for thinking that a full-scale assault on higher-ed is forthcoming. But it’s not hard to read the tea leaves.

Dismantling DEI. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is entwined ideologically and in practice with racial preferences designed to help “marginalized” racial-ethnic groups. Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court severely restricted the role of race in admissions. Most universities made only cosmetic changes in response. Citing civil rights law, the Trump administration ordered the elimination of all such preferences, not only in admissions, but in hiring, firing, promotions, campus housing, graduation ceremonies and other aspects of university life.

Research grants. According to an AI scan, Virginia Tech and UVA apply 27% to 28% of grant proceeds to covering expenses such as facility maintenance, regulatory compliance, utilities and administrative support. VCU reportedly applies 55.25% to overhead, and GMU an astonishing 59%. By limiting overhead to 15%, the Trump administration aims to steer a larger share of each grant to the scientists conducting the research and to encourage universities to reduce bloated overhead.

Student loans. Another potential target is federal student grants and loans, which amount to $100 billion to $120 billion a year. About 7% of student loans are in default at any given time, and 11% to 15% are delinquent. Critics of the program contend that colleges and universities should be held accountable, at least in part, for facilitating loans to students who cannot repay their obligations because they dropped out or could not parlay their credential into a job with sufficient earning potential to repay their debt. Critics also condemn indiscriminate lending for giving universities more latitude to increase tuition.

Foreign students. Foreign students are a lucrative source of revenue for U.S. universities and the U.S. economy as a whole. Trump administration immigration restrictions, combined with increased scrutiny of Chinese students suspected of spying for Red China and Palestinian militants leading antisemitic, anti-Israel protests, may dampen foreigners’ enthusiasm for attending U.S. institutions. Update: According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, at least two dozen students or recent alumni from Tech, UVA, VCU and GMU have recently had their visas revoked.

Taxing endowments. America’s elite universities have accumulated massive endowments that generate tax-free income. Harvard’s endowment has reached an obscene $53 billion. UVAs endowment of $14 billion is one of the largest for any public university. Tech, VCU, W&L, and the University of Richmond, among others in Virginia, all have endowments exceeding $1 billion. In 2017 Congress enacted an excise tax of 1.4% of investment income on some private colleges. Now Congress is contemplating slapping a 21% tax on investment income.

These are all powerful levers, and the Trump administration could force universities into a brutal retrenchment should it desire to do so. Given their role as incubators of radicalism, their ever-rising tuition, their voracious appetite for federal dollars, and their deteriorating value proposition, higher-ed has fallen dramatically in public esteem.

As I interpreted his remarks, Tomasi issued his prediction as a warning, not something to be desired. Trump has shown little hesitation to punish his perceived enemies — and the academic class certainly qualifies — if he has the means to do so. I expect, however, that many voters would cheer him on.