U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon launched a “national call to action” urging university presidents and governing boards to publish public commitments to reforms by the end of 2026, citing eroding public trust in higher education. In a detailed prompt, McMahon tied institutional commitments to admissions transparency and merit, protections for free speech and open inquiry, academic vitality and intellectual pluralism, and affordability/value with an emphasis on student outcomes. The message reinforces that governing boards and institutional leaders—not federal agencies—own implementation under fiduciary duties. The call follows a separate attempt by the Trump administration to build a “compact” linking institutional actions to access to research funds, according to additional reporting on “After Colleges Reject ‘Compact,’ Trump Officials Try a Letter.” Taken together, the administration is shifting from conditional carrots to public accountability demands aimed at governance and compliance expectations.