The Defense Department this week announced the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech as the newest hosts of a reworked educational program for service members, a decision that came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut ties with several Ivy League institutions.
The two universities were the first to be selected by the department and will soon offer the Senior Service College Fellowship, a 10-month professional program for senior military officers.
“We are deeply honored to participate,” UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee H. Roberts said in a statement. “The program fits well within the context of our mission of service, and we take tremendous pride in our deep, longstanding relationship with the United States military.”
Earlier this year, Hegseth announced the Defense Department had canceled the fellowship program at several Ivy League schools, including Columbia University, Harvard University and Yale University — institutions that had historically offered the program for military members.
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Under his leadership, Hegseth said the department had realigned its academic partnerships to better reflect the administration’s goals.
In a social media post in February, the secretary argued the elite schools had become the grounds for “woke indoctrination” and that the universities fomented “anti-American resentment and military disdain.” The Pentagon has canceled at least 93 fellowship programs and cut ties with 13 higher education institutions.
Hegseth’s decision to end fellowships that sent senior military officers to select U.S. universities has sparked confusion within the armed services and concerns that officers will lose access to some of the nation’s top academic institutions, NOTUS previously reported.
More universities are expected to join the new cohort in the coming weeks. In a memo, the department suggested several conservative-leaning schools, such as Hillsdale College, Liberty University and the University of Florida, as likely partners.
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