Pentagon chief blocks officers from Ivy League schools and top universities

The actual announcement - https://media.defense.gov/2026/Feb/27/2003881802/-1/-1/1/ALI...

I've TFed and CAed for SSC fellows eons ago and the fact is UMich (especially the International Institute [0]), VT (CETS [1] and CGIT [2]), ASU (GSI [3] and CAPS [4]), and UNC (ASC [5], ISA [6], CES [7], and TISS [8]) remain great programs and tend to be fairly liberal.

Surprised TAMU wasn't included.

Edit: can't reply

> and lo and behold

Yep, but everyone who's an SSC will self-select for Mich, UNC, ASU, and VT. SSC fellows are smart and are gunning for top exit opps in the public and private sector. Hillsdale, Regent, and Liberty don't offer that and would limit career options as they are deeply ideological programs.

[0] - https://ii.umich.edu/ii/about-us/centers-programs.html

[1] - https://liberalarts.vt.edu/research-centers/ceuts.html

[2] - https://www.cgit.vt.edu/index.html

[3] - https://nationalsecurity.asu.edu/

[4] - https://www.capsresearch.org/

[5] - https://africa.unc.edu/

[6] - http://isa.unc.edu/

[7] - https://europe.unc.edu/

[8] - https://tiss-nc.org/

Then UMich - a notably Dem leaning govt program - wouldn't be included.

Personally, I remember taking Fairbanks Center associated classes and noticing how we have the children of Chinese VVIPs sitting next to active duty members.

It sparked interesting conversations, but seeing someone who was a test pilot at Hanford sitting next to a scion of a Red Family was interesting to say the least.

The program also absolutely did used to publicly give advice to the CCP at the time, and on the listservs I'm still on I do still see publicly pronounced UFWD members responding and posting events in the Boston area.

Ofc, if I noticed this then it was absolutely known to three-letter agencies and State, and some of the institutions included are part of a larger culture war, but there is a kernel of truth - too many children of various countries dignitaries attended the program.

Edit: can't reply

> I think isolationism amongst the war party is less helpful than some degree of interaction

UMich isn't an isolationist program though - it's a program which imo is the closest to how foreign policy was managed under the Obama admin.

Noting that we have always been at war with Eurasia, given we actually are not at war with Eurasia, would it not be both normal and sensible to at least know your Eurasian counterparts?

I think isolationism amongst the war party is less helpful than some degree of interaction.

My first reaction was, "watch, they're going to replace actual rigorous educational institutions with religious colleges" and lo and behold, "Liberty University" is at the top of the list for replacement civilian institutions.

The list of replacements institutions from the memo states at the bottom:

> These institutions meet the following criteria: intellectual freedom, minimal relationships with adversaries, minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department, and Graduate-level National Security, International Affairs, and/or Public Policy Programs.

So it is definitely political and not based on merit.