University of Arizona Faculty Senate Rejects Trump’s “Higher Education Compact,” Urges Leadership to Resist
TUSCON, AZ - October 8, 2025 The University of Arizona’s Faculty Senate has overwhelmingly rejected a Trump administration “compact” that would tie federal funding to compliance with ideological and operational mandates, urging the university’s leadership to do the same.
The compact, sent to nine major institutions nationwide, proposes that universities adopt policies such as eliminating considerations of race or gender in hiring and admissions, capping international undergraduate enrollment, freezing tuition for five years, and emphasizing “institutional neutrality” on sociopolitical issues. Critics say it threatens free inquiry and institutional autonomy.
At UA, the Faculty Senate framed their rejection as defending academic freedom and resisting federal overreach. Senate Chair Leila Hudson voiced concerns that the compact functions less as an incentive and more as a coercive tool - essentially forcing campuses to surrender core governance prerogatives under threat of funding cuts.
The move has garnered support beyond university halls. The Tucson City Council is poised to vote on a resolution formally opposing UA’s participation in the compact and urging the university not to sign on.
As UA’s administration considers how to respond, faculty leaders emphasize that accepting the compact would set a dangerous precedent: future administrations might demand further conditions. From their vantage, the compact doesn’t strengthen universities - they warn it undermines the very mission of open, independent scholarship