Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities
Source: Hacker News
Overhaul of Professional Military Education
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is overhauling the list of schools that military officers can attend for professional courses and graduate programs. In a memo on Friday on professional military education institutions, he announced the elimination of certain Senior Service College fellowship programs for the 2026‑2027 academic year and beyond.
“We must develop strategic thinkers through education grounded in the founding principles and documents of the republic, embracing peace through strength and American ideals, and focused on our national strategies and grounded in realism,” Hegseth wrote. “We will no longer invest in institutions that fail to sharpen our leaders’ warfighting capabilities or that undermine the very values they are sworn to defend.”
Canceled Institutions
The memo lists the following schools whose programs are being canceled:
- Harvard University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Yale University
- Columbia University
- Brown University
- Princeton University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Potential New Partner Schools
Hegseth also identified a slate of prospective partner institutions, including:
- Liberty University
- George Mason University
- Pepperdine University
- University of Tennessee
- University of Michigan
- University of Nebraska
- University of North Carolina
- Clemson University
- Baylor University
Reactions and Context
In a video posted on X on Friday, Hegseth said:
“For decades, the Ivy League and similar institutions have gorged themselves on a trust fund of American taxpayer dollars, only to become factories of anti‑American resentment and military disdain.”
Despite the accusation that the banned schools are “anti‑American,” several have longstanding partnerships with the military on emerging priorities:
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The Army’s Artificial Intelligence Integration Center is located at Carnegie Mellon University, a leading hub for AI innovation. The center aims to increase the Army’s familiarity with AI applications and connect the service with private‑sector AI leaders. (Source: Army article)
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The Space Force partnered with Johns Hopkins University’s SAIS for officer intermediate‑level and senior‑level education. (Source: Space Force announcement)
Representatives for the Army’s AI center and the Space Force did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how Hegseth’s directive will affect these partnerships.
Related Developments
The change occurs amid broader federal AI policy shifts: the Trump administration is cutting off Anthropic as a provider of AI technology to the federal government, including the Department of Defense, while expanding ties with OpenAI and xAI.
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