University of Alaska Faculty Unions Urge Regents to Reject Trump-Era Higher Ed Compact
ANCHORAGE, AK - November 3 2025 Faculty unions representing instructors, graduate workers, and adjuncts across the University of Alaska System (UA) have delivered a petition to the system’s Board of Regents, urging it not to sign the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education proposed by the Donald J. Trump administration.
With 671 signatures gathered in just over a week, the unions argue that the compact poses a threat to institutional autonomy and academic freedom. “We want to pre-emptively tell them that this is a bad idea,” said Jill Dumesnil, president of United Academics at University of Alaska Southeast.
The compact - first dispatched to major U.S. universities in October - offers preferential federal research funding in exchange for signatory institutions adopting policies in line with the Trump administration’s higher-education agenda. The proposed conditions include limiting international student enrollment, redefining gender for athletic participation, and mandating standardized test-based admissions without regard to race or sex.
Although the UA System has not yet received official communication from the federal government and no board action is scheduled, union leaders view the petition as a proactive defense of academic integrity. “It requires broad ideological tolerance … It’s not just research funding that is tied to this oath. It’s also student support or any federal funding whatsoever.”
As universities nationwide grapple with whether to accept or reject the compact, the Alaska unions’ early mobilization underscores rising concern among faculty that federal incentives may come at the cost of institutional independence.