photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod visits with a member of the crowd following his State of the University address on Oct. 16, 2025.

KU Chancellor Doug Girod has helped the Trump administration craft a letter asking U.S. universities to broaden their idealogical spectrum and put “Americans, and American interests,” first, according to national reports.

Girod was among four university chancellors and presidents who help U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon craft an Aug. 3 letter asking U.S. universities to publicly commit to seven “statements of principle” that range from artificial intelligence usage to ensuring that protests don’t disrupt learning on campuses.

While the letter asks universities to make a public statement of support by the end of the year, this letter — unlike a proposed “compact” last year — doesn’t state whether schools will be rewarded or punished based on how they respond to the request.

“We’d much rather be a partner than play the guessing game as we have been,” Girod told Bloomberg, which was the first media organization to report the involvement of university leaders in the crafting of the letter.

The Journal-World has reached out to Girod’s office for further comment about his involvement and how he expects KU to comply with the letter’s requests. The Journal-World hasn’t yet received a response to those questions.

Girod is the chair of the Association of American Universities, which is generally regarded as the top collection of research universities in North America. Joining Girod in assisting the Trump administration with the letter was AAU vice-chair Ronald Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg reported. Andrew Martin at Washington University in St. Louis and Michael Crow at Arizona State University also were part of the group that helped craft the letter, according to Bloomberg.

The letter does not direct universities to adopt specific operating policies, but rather asks the universities to describe what commitments they will make to seven “statements of principle” outlined in the letter.

“Before the end of 2026, I call on every postsecondary institution to describe to the American public your commitments to rigorous teaching, pathbreaking research, and national service — commitments that make our universities a bedrock institution of the American public,” the letter stated, which was signed solely by McMahon.

The seven principles outlined in the letter are:

• A transparent posting of the university’s admission criteria, including statements that show “admission decisions are based on merit, achievement, and your university’s educational purpose.”

• An “ethic of free speech” that allows for a “thriving marketplace of ideas, guided by open inquiry and honest debate.” The letter asks that each university describe how it will “guarantee that unruly and violent protestors do not harass students or disrupt classes, research, public lectures and campus operations.”

• An explanation of the university’s faculty and hiring practices with an eye towards ensuring that “all relevant perspectives are taken seriously.” The letter references a recent document authored by the presidents of Vanderbilt and Washington universities that argues political criteria have compromised the integrity of many academic fields.

“When disciplines skew toward one side of the ideological spectrum, the truth-seeking function of the university suffers and public trust declines,” McMahon said in the letter.

• A statement on how the university is working to “ensure that families can access affordable, high-return degrees.” The letter also asks universities to detail how they are making their pricing transparent, and what they are doing to equip students to repay their loans.

• A statement on how the university will “incentivize rigor” in the age of artificial intelligence. The statement specifically raises concerns about a trend of “grade inflation” on some university campuses.

• An explanation of how the university will protect its research projects and other key pieces of information from “foreign influence.” The statement said universities should be prepared to refuse gifts with “problematic conditions,” and also need to be ready to “ensure foreign actors do not unduly influence academic programming, research personnel, researcher assignments or student admissions.”

• A recognition that American taxpayers provide massive sums of funding to higher education, and that “American universities must put Americans, and American interests, first.” The letter specifically asks each university to describe how it will “advance American security interests,” and also meet the country’s workforce needs.

McMahon is calling on each university to prominently post their responses to each statement of principle on its university website. Among the questions the Journal-World has posed to Girod’s office is how that process will play out at KU?