Brown University has declined the Trump administration’s offer to sign onto a highly controversial “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” becoming the second Ivy League institution to reject it.
What the Compact Would Require
Issued to nine leading universities, the compact would tie preferential access to federal funding to sweeping conditions. Among the terms:
- Capping international undergraduate enrollment at 15%
- Prohibiting consideration of race or sex in hiring and admissions
- Defining gender strictly on a biological basis
- Applying new “merits” criteria for research funding beyond traditional scientific merit
Rights & Ramifications
Our course, institutions have the right to refuse the compact. But the administration has warned that institutions that refuse could lose access to certain federal benefits, while those that comply would be prioritized for new programs and grants.
Brown’s Rejection and Its Reasoning
In a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Brown University President Christina Paxson stated that accepting the compact’s terms would “restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance” — values she described as central to the university’s mission.
She noted that Brown already has a prior agreement with the administration that reaffirms the federal government’s lack of authority to dictate academic content or governance, and said the new compact fails to include those same protections.
Broader Context & Reactions
MIT recently became the first institution to publicly reject the compact, citing similar concerns about independence and free inquiry. Brown’s decision follows that example, signaling growing resistance among top-tier universities.
The proposed compact has drawn criticism from higher-education advocates and constitutional scholars, who argue it represents ideological coercion packaged as reform. They warn that linking academic funding to compliance with political mandates could redefine the boundaries between education and government influence for decades to come.
