The University of Arizona is the latest institution to refuse to sign on to the Trump administration’s proposed Compact on Academic Excellence in Higher Education, issuing a response on the day feedback on the proposal is due.
While some universities have rejected the agreement outright, Arizona State President Suresh Garimella sent mixed signals when he announced the decision in a message to the campus community. “The University has not yet agreed to the terms outlined in the draft proposal,” Garimella wrote. He stressed the need to uphold “the principles of academic freedom, merit-based research funding and institutional independence.”
At the same time, he said some of the compact’s provisions “deserve careful consideration as our state’s higher education system could benefit from reforms that have been slow to progress,” noting that many of the provisions are already in place in Arizona. He added that the federal government had indicated it was “looking for a constructive dialogue rather than a clear written response”.
Indeed, Garimela said in a letter to Education Minister Linda McMahon that she was open to further engagement. “We share much in common with the changes your administration is advancing that will benefit American higher education and the country as a whole,” he wrote.
Still, he questioned the government’s commitment to giving signatories preferential treatment in terms of research funding. “A federal research funding system that is not merit-based would undermine the world’s remarkable engines of innovation, technological advancement, and the ability to solve many of our nation’s deepest challenges,” he wrote to McMahon. “We do not seek special treatment and believe in our ability to compete strictly on merit for federally funded research.”
Arizona was one of nine universities contacted by the Trump administration on Oct. 1 to offer preferential treatment in federal research funding if they agreed to a deal that would overhaul admissions and hiring, cap international enrollment at 15 percent, revamp academic programs, suppress criticism of conservatives, freeze tuition for five years and more.
While the initial nine invitations met with some rejections, the federal government extended more invitations earlier this month.
Initial institutions invited to join include Brown University, Dartmouth College, MIT, University of Arizona, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. Invitations followed to Arizona State University, the University of Kansas and Washington University in St. Louis.
Six original invitees declined to sign: MIT was the first to reject the agreement, followed by Brown, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California and the University of Virginia.
The Trump administration has since opened the compact to any agency wishing to join.
As of Monday, no invited institutions had agreed to the agreement, despite recent push from the White House, including meetings with several universities last week. Agencies have until Nov. 21 to make a final decision on whether to sign on, according to a letter McMahon sent with the proposal.
Officials at Washington University in St. Louis said Monday they were open to the idea.
President Andrew Martin announced that the university will provide feedback or, as he put it, “engage in conversations with the Trump administration about the future of higher education.” Martin stressed the importance of “having a seat at the table” in such discussions, but said these negotiations did not amount to signing a deal.
“It is important for you to know that our participation in this conversation does not mean that we have endorsed or signed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education Submit it to us for feedback from the federal government. We haven’t done that yet. Furthermore, this decision was not made to benefit ourselves or obtain any type of favor,” Martin wrote. “We firmly believe that meaningful progress is best achieved through open, ongoing dialogue. “
An Arizona spokesperson also reserved the option to join the compact, writing to Inside higher education Via email, “ASU has long been a voice for change in higher education, and as President Trump’s team seeks new and innovative ways to meet the nation’s needs, ASU joins the conversation and provides ideas on how to do so.”
Vanderbilt University President Daniel Diermeier noted in an email to the campus community that the university intends to provide feedback on the proposal.
“Despite reports to the contrary, we have not been asked to accept or reject the draft compact,” Diermeier wrote. “Instead, we have been asked to provide feedback and comment as part of an ongoing dialogue, and that is our intention.”
But other universities remained silent on the initial deadline.
University of Texas System officials initially announced they were “honored” the flagship was invited to join, but Austin officials did not provide an update on the invitation. Kansas State did not respond to a request for comment.
