Rejecting the Compact Is an Opportunity (opinion)

"Of the original nine colleges and universities, so far none has signed, and seven- Brown University, Dartmouth College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Universities of Arizona, Pennsylvania, Southern California and Virginia -have loudly and forcefully rejected it, citing "our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone" (MIT) and "the government's lack of authority to dictate our curriculum or the content of academic speech" (Brown)."

"The compact is an effort to overcome that problem. But it is also a gift. It has flipped the default: Now collective action does not necessarily require affirmative acts like banding together to file a lawsuit (although several are warranted). Collective action can simply take the form of nonacquiescence. All university leaders need to do is ... nothing."

The Trump administration offered a 'Compact for Academic Excellence' to nine colleges and universities; none have signed. Seven institutions — Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, and the Universities of Arizona, Pennsylvania, Southern California and Virginia — publicly rejected the compact, citing commitments to merit-based scientific funding and institutional autonomy over curriculum and academic speech. The administration previously sought individual deals with universities but lacked legal leverage and staff to negotiate bespoke agreements nationwide. The compact aims to impose sector-wide control, but its open invitation enabled broad mobilization. Collective nonacquiescence by university communities can effectively block adoption without affirmative legal action.

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