On February 27, 2026, US Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the department would cut academic ties with 21 higher education institutions in retaliation for their allegedly engaging in “woke indoctrination.”
It was unclear exactly what activities the Department of Defense was cutting, and, as of early March, the Department had not communicated directly with any of the universities affected.
A Department of Defense memo titled, “Aligning Senior Service College Opportunities with American Values,” stated that the department was “refocusing the education of its senior officers,” and listed 22 institutions where Senior Service College Fellowships would be canceled beginning during the 2026-27 academic year. These included: Harvard, Saint Louis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, Georgetown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Brown University, Columbia University, Yale University, Middlebury College, Princeton University, George Washington University, the College of William and Mary, and Queen’s University (Canada). The memo listed an additional 22 potential institutions where the department may establish new partnerships. In a social media post on X, Hegseth claimed without evidence that “the Ivy League and similar institutions” had “indoctrinated” students with “woke” ideology.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about formal state pressure on institutional autonomy, academic freedom, and on-campus expression, including the severance of long-standing academic partnerships, in apparent retaliation for ideas or opinions expressed by persons or programs within particular institutions. While legislative and executive officials have a right to express their views about higher education communities and policies, they have a responsibility to refrain from using their offices to punish lawful conduct or to otherwise pressure higher education institutions into political or ideological alignment. Formal state threats and pressures undermine university autonomy, academic freedom, and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://media.defense.gov/2026/Feb/27/2003881802/-1/-1/1/ALIGNING-SENIOR-SERVICE-COLLEGE-OPPORTUNITIES-WITH-AMERICAN-VALUES.PDF
https://time.news/hegseth-cancels-military-fellowships-at-brown-21-other-schools/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/admissions/graduate/2026/03/06/hegseth-waging-war-colleges-his-targets-are-unclear
https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2026/02/hegseth-orders-cancellation-of-attendance-for-troops-in-brown-graduate-programs
https://x.com/SecWar/status/2027474502876070386?s=20