The University of Virginia’s faculty has overwhelmingly voted to reject any cooperation with U.S. Department of Education on a proposed compact calling it a “threat to the values of academic freedom.”
Faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences, the largest college at UVA, voted Monday to oppose an agreement that would prioritize funding requests in exchange for fealty to the president and his agenda.
Ninety-seven percent of those attending the meeting on Monday afternoon voted in favor of a statement crafted by the college’s Committee on Academic Freedom and Professional Ethics to reject any negotiations with the Trump administration regarding its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”
More than 150 staff also attended the meeting to show unity with faculty members.
The vote follows a resolution passed by the UVA Faculty Senate on Friday firmly opposing the compact and asking for the interim president and Board of Visitors to reject it “outright as well as any similar proposal comprising the mission, values and independence of the university.”
The 10-page proposal was sent to a total of nine universities.
MAGA BOV could agree to compact despite strong stance of faculty
In a nonpartisan world, the faculty’s opinion should carry considerable weight, but it could prove inconsequential if the ultimate decision is made by the BOV.
UVA Interim President Paul Mahoney has put together a working group to review the letter.
The university put out a statement on Monday, signed by Mahoney and Rector Rachel Sheridan, saying the document raises questions of profound importance to UVA and to all institutions of higher education in the U.S.
“It would be difficult for the University to agree to certain provisions in the compact,” the statement said.
Mahoney and Sheridan said the “response will be guided by the same principles of academic freedom and free inquiry that Thomas Jefferson placed at the center of the university’s mission more than 200 years ago, and to which the university has remained faithful ever since.”
The UVA community was also invited to share their input on the compact.
It is unknown what role the MAGA-majority UVA Board of Visitors, appointed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, will play in the ultimate decision as to whether Virginia wants to play ball with the president in order to get preferential treatment on funding.
The statement said in part that the BOV looks forward to working with Mahoney “to address this critical juncture in the relationship between the federal government and American universities.”
The Board of Visitors already agreed to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs at the university and push out former UVA President Jim Ryan after pressure from the Department of Justice.
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Ryan ultimately resigned but exercised a clause in his agreement with UVA to stay on as a “tenured faculty member.” He joined the faculty as a full professor in the School of Law and the School of Education and Human Development with an annual salary of $825,000.
The Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors, or AAUP, have demanded an investigation into the forced departure of Ryan raising issue with the BOV members who “may have aided and abetted the Department of Justice’s political campaign against UVA and President Ryan.”
The UVA Student Council also passed a resolution of “no confidence” in the BOV after Ryan’s departure.
Breaking down the compact
In addition to UVA, the letter and compact was sent to Brown University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Arizona, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas and Vanderbilt University.
The loyalty oath promised substantial grant monies and increased overhead payments to universities that agree to address trans athletes in college sports, expand the political diversity of faculty and pledge to create a culture that supports conservative ideas on campus.
ICYMI
The American Association of University Professors and American Federation of Teachers encouraged all nine schools to stand together, arguing the compact would “turn a university administration into a weapon of the executive branch.”
Signing the compact, both said in a joint statement, would be a “profound betrayal” that would “irretrievable tarnish your personal reputation and compromise your institution’s legacy.”
The Trump administration asked for feedback from the universities on the agreement by Oct. 20 with a decision on the compact by Nov. 21.
Those who agree to “champion” the Trump agenda will be invited to the White House as “initial signatories” to finalize the language.
Committee on Academic Freedom and Professional Ethics full statement
The College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences has always put basic principles of academic freedom at the center of its work.
This value was underscored in the A&S Statement on Academic Freedom of April 2025.
Therefore, we ask that the interim president, the rector, and board of visitors refuse to discuss joining the compact offered by the federal government.
Contents of the compact include matters of best practices in higher education with which we are always engaged. But the very existence of this compact is a threat to the values of academic freedom to which we are all committed.
Faculty Senate resolution opposing compact
WHEREAS the United States Secretary of Education has requested that the University of Virginia enter into a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”, and
WHEREAS the Compact contains provisions antithetical to the mission and traditions of the University, and
WHEREAS the Compact contains provisions which endanger the independence and integrity of the University, and
WHEREAS the Compact likely violates state and federal law, and infringes upon the constitutional rights of members of the University community, and
WHEREAS the University of Virginia exemplifies American academic values of the highest standard, including universal right to free speech and the cultivation of academic freedom; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate of the University of Virginia firmly opposes this Compact as written and calls upon Interim President Mahoney and the Board of Visitors to also reject this Compact outright as well as any similar proposal compromising the mission, values, and independence of the University.
Statement: Full email sent to UVA community
To the University of Virginia Community,
You have likely read that UVA is one of nine schools that received a proposal from the Department of Education and other federal officials regarding a “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education.”
The document raises questions of profound importance to the University of Virginia and more broadly to all institutions of higher education in the United States.
President Mahoney has formed a working group to study those questions and to advise him concerning the appropriate response. The Board of Visitors has confidence in that process and looks forward to working with President Mahoney to address this critical juncture in the relationship between the federal government and American universities.
It would be difficult for the University to agree to certain provisions in the Compact. We write to assure you that our response will be guided by the same principles of academic freedom and free inquiry that Thomas Jefferson placed at the center of the University’s mission more than 200 years ago, and to which the University has remained faithful ever since.
We are including a link below that will allow members of the community to share their views, and look forward to your input.
https://virginia.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1IanFDY9X6Zkrqu
Rachel Sheridan
Rector
Paul Mahoney
Interim President
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Crystal Graham
