The University of Arizona has become the seventh institution to reject a set of policies proposed by the Trump administration, known as the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, which offered preferential federal funding in exchange for compliance. The Tucson-based university announced its decision on Monday, citing its commitment to “academic freedom, merit-based research funding, and institutional independence," reported Al Jazeera.

Reasons for rejection

While acknowledging that some recommendations in the compact warranted “thoughtful consideration,” the university noted that “many of the proposed ideas are already in place at the University of Arizona.” The decision aligns with six other elite universities—Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Southern California, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, and Dartmouth College—that have also declined to sign the compact.

Status of other universities

Out of nine elite institutions approached by the Trump administration, two—Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas at Austin—had not yet announced their decisions as the White House’s Monday deadline passed. Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier stated that the university was engaging in dialogue with the administration but had not been directed to accept or reject the compact.

Terms of the compact

The compact required universities to adopt policies such as disregarding race and sex in admissions and faculty hiring, limiting international undergraduate enrollment to 15 percent, and ensuring campuses remain a “vibrant marketplace of ideas” without a dominant political ideology. It also mandated the abolition of departments that “purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

Criticism from academic organisations

The compact has faced significant backlash. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) condemned it, stating, “The Trump administration’s offer to give preferential treatment to colleges and universities that court government favour stinks of favouritism, patronage, and bribery in exchange for allegiance to a partisan ideological agenda.” The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) also expressed concerns about the compact’s implications.