Updates on the Trump Administration Compact for Higher Education
Breaking news, statements from the field, and coverage on campuses.
New national coverage & opinion:
Deciphering Trump’s Compact Invitation to All of Higher Ed | By Katherine Knott for Inside Higher Ed, October 15, 2025
Trump Ramps Up Pressure, Extends Higher Ed Compact To All Institutions | by Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes, October 15, 2025
The Logical End Point of Trump’s Higher-Education Agenda": A “compact” offered by the administration could devastate racial diversity at elite universities.
| By Kevin Carey for The Atlantic, October 15, 2025
Why U.S. Colleges Are Saying No To Trump’s Higher Education Compact | by Samantha Walraven for Forbes, October 14, 2025
What to Know About Trump’s Funding ‘Compact’ for Colleges | by Miranda Jeyaretnam for Time Magazine, October 14, 2025
Trump’s higher education ‘compact’ is an attempt to extort universities | Opinion By Erwin Chemerinsky (Berkeley Law dean) to The Sacramento Bee, October 14, 2025
Inside the Trump Administration’s Assault on Higher Education: How conservatives learned to stop worrying and love federal power. | By Emma Green for the New Yorker, October 13, 2025
Trump’s “Compact” With Colleges Will Put University Presidents in Legal Jeopardy | By Ben Olinsky, Viviann Anguiano, Devon Ombres for the Center for American Progress, Oct 10, 2025
How The Trump Admin’s Attack on Higher Education and DEI Are Impacting Campuses | By Mary Retta for Teen Vogue, October 10, 2025
Universities Must Defend Their Independence by Rejecting Trump’s “Compact” | By Walter Olson for the Cato Institute, October 10, 2025 5:16PM
Trump’s higher education compact isn’t conservative. It’s federal intimidation. | By David Ramadan for USA Today, October 8, 2025
Trump Administration’s Higher Ed Compact: Admirable Impulse, Bad Policy | By Frederick M. Hess for the American Enterprise Institute, October 06, 2025
Academia Is Broken. Trump’s University ‘Compact’ Can Help Fix It. | By Marc Rowan for the New York Times, Oct. 10, 2025
The Billionaire Behind Trump’s Deal for Universities: The conservative ideas behind the Trump administration’s “compact” for universities were developed in part by Marc Rowan, a wealthy financier who has sought to shape higher education. | By Alan Blinder and Michael C. Bender for the New York Times, October 3, 2025
More statements from the field:
A Higher Education Compact in Action | By Bobbie Laur, Campus Compact President, Oct. 14, 2025
Statement Of AAU President Barbara R. Snyder On The Administration’s Higher Education Compact, October 10, 2025
Join a Loyalty Club for Higher Education—While You Still Can! | by Michael Roth for The Nation, October 14, 2025
Director of Notre Dame Democracy Institute Criticizes Trump’s University Compact | by Haley Garecht, October 15, 2025
How campuses are responding:
MIT rejects the compact: Regarding the Compact | letter by Sally Kornbluth, President, October 10, 2025
M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment | By Vimal Patel for the New York Times, Oct. 10, 2025
MIT Rejects Proposed Federal Compact | By Josh Moody for Inside Higher Ed, October 10, 2025
MIT rejects Trump admin funding compact, citing free expression concerns | By Rachel Wolf for Fox News, October 11, 202
MIT the First to Reject Trump’s Absurd New Higher Ed Compact | By Beth Akers for the American Enterprise Institute, October 10, 2025
GOP Congressman Applauds College That Rejected Trump “Bribe” | by Phillip Kolb in Daily Edition, October 15, 2025
Brown University president declines invitation for Brown to join federal Compact
Brown University Rejects White House Deal for Special Treatment | By Alan Blinder for the New York Times, Oct. 15, 2025
Brown University rejects Trump proposal to overhaul policies for preferential funding | by Marina Dunbar for The Guardian, October 15, 2025
Brown University president speaks out publicly about Trump’s pact. | Katherine Gregg for the Providence Journal, October 10, 2025
Undergraduate Council of Students to hold referendum on whether Brown should accept Trump administration compact | By Hadley Carr for the Brown Daily Herald, October 14, 2025
Penn rejects Trump compact offered to colleges | by Susan Snyder for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 16, 2025
Penn rejects White House proposal for special funding treatment | By Alex Dash and Isha Chitirala for The Daily Pennsylvanian, Oct. 16, 2025
Pennsylvania lawmakers seek to bar state-funded colleges from signing Trump compact | by Natalie Schwartz for Higher Ed Dive, Oct. 7, 2025
Penn faculty senate overwhelmingly votes to urge university leaders to reject Trump compact | by Susan Snyder for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 15, 2025
Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock, Response to the ‘Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education’, 10/3/2025
Trump compact could threaten academic freedom, professors and student leaders say | By Teo Steverlynck-Horne for The Dartmouth, October 14, 2025
Iowa lawmakers urge regent universities to be first to sign Trump’s higher ed compact: ‘Iowa has a chance to be a leader’ | by Vanessa Miller for The Gazette, Oct. 13, 2025
Democratic Lawmakers Pressure UVA: Democrats are demanding answers over the University of Virginia president’s resignation and warning the board against signing a proposed federal compact. | By Josh Moody for Inside Higher Ed, October 10, 2025
UVA: Tensions arise between Faculty Senate and Mahoney over Compact from Trump admin | By Cecilia Mould for the Cavalier Daily, October 5, 2025
UVA: Virginia Senate leaders express “unequivocal opposition” to Compact | By Grace Little for the Cavalier Daily, October 8, 2025
Iowa lawmakers call on Regents to join Trump administration higher ed compact | By Brooklyn Draisey for the Iowa Capital Dispatch, October 13, 2025
Faculty Senate, VSG urge university not to sign Trump’s higher education compact | By Jacob Stoebner for the Vanderbilt Hustler, Oct 11, 2025
Texas: Student organizations protest Trump administration’s compact offered to UT | by Diego Hernandez and Jack Polishook for the Daily Texan, October 13, 2025
UT Austin Faced with Loyalty Oath to the Trump Administration | Texas AFT, October 10, 2025
‘Do not sign’: UT students ask university to reject Trump proposal | By Lily Kepner for the Austin American Statesman, October 14, 2025
Arizona: Student pushback grows as UA weighs Trump administration compact | by Carolina Cuellar for the Arizona Luminaria, October 15, 2025
