Secretary McMahon Delivers Final 'Next 250' Speech at Vanderbilt, Urging Colleges to Restore Merit and Public Trust
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon delivered remarks at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 28 — the fourth and final speech in her 'The Next 250: American Education' series — on the Trump Administration's efforts to restore public trust in higher education.
McMahon called on colleges and universities to restore merit, remove ideological litmus tests from hiring and admissions, and promote intellectual diversity, saying the Administration's accountability agenda is already driving positive change.
She commended Vanderbilt for leading bold reforms, particularly its Declaration of First Principles, which commits the university to pathbreaking research, teaching students how to think rather than what to think, and ensuring education and research support the national interest.
"2024 was a turning point for America — and for higher education. The most vivid examples of institutional decay rising to the surface compelled a reckoning, a return to the basic standards that powered centuries of academic vitality," McMahon said. "A tide of reform is finally washing over our campuses... I have chosen to come to Vanderbilt because it stands as a national example of this renewal." She also praised Chancellor Daniel Diermeier's leadership in reclaiming truth, institutional neutrality and open inquiry.
The four-part series highlights the Administration's K-12, workforce and higher education agenda and its vision for the next 250 years of American education.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：范德堡大学 Kirkland Hall。照片：CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Kirkland Hall at Vanderbilt University. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
