Six days after Brown, along with eight other universities, received an invitation to sign the Trump administration’s “Compact For Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, University administrators have yet to make a public statement on the issue — a break from others who received the letter, most of whom have said they are considering the proposal.
At Tuesday’s faculty meeting, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 declined to comment on the compact beyond expressing gratitude for individuals who have expressed their concerns. Instead, Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee Anna Lysyanskaya said she would provide “more details” about the compact during the meeting’s executive session, which only voting faculty members and invited administrators were permitted to attend.
University Spokesperson Brian Clark declined to comment on whether Brown has received or reviewed the compact.
“I won’t say that much about the compact here, only to thank people who have already written to me to express their views and concerns,” Paxson said. “And it’s understandable that many want to know what I and other colleagues in the Brown administration are thinking. At this point, I think it’s most helpful to hear from members of our community.”
The compact will provide universities that sign with benefits, including access to “substantial and meaningful federal grants,” according to the Journal.
Signatories would be required to accept demands such as freezing tuition for five years, limiting grade inflation and capping international undergraduate enrollment rates at 15%, among others.
Penn and Dartmouth were the only other Ivy League schools that reportedly received the letter, and both schools’ presidents have released statements in regards to the compact.
Penn President J. Larry Jameson wrote in a campus-wide announcement that the university will seek input from the Penn community, while Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock wrote that the school would never “compromise” their academic freedom and ability to self-govern.
Both schools indicated that they have been asked to provide feedback on the proposal by Oct. 20.
University of Virginia Interim President Paul Mahoney said the university would establish a working group to determine a response to the Trump administration’s letter. The University of Arizona’s provost said the university would evaluate the letter, adding that they were discussing it with university bodies.
University of Southern California Interim President Beong-Soo Kim released a public statement on Oct. 3 that said USC will engage with university stakeholders and review the Trump administration’s letter. Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the school is reviewing the compact, and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology spokesperson also confirmed that the school had received the invitation.
The University of Texas System Chairman Kevin Eltife said the institution was “honored” that its flagship campus, the University of Texas at Austin, had been a recipient of the letter.
Of the nine universities reported to have received the compact, Brown is the only whose administrators have yet to publicly address the offer.
Though they did not publicly discuss the compact at Tuesday’s faculty meeting, Paxson provided an update on Brown’s July agreement with the federal government.
As part of the deal, Brown will spend $50 million over the next decade in state workforce development grants. Paxson said the University is making “good progress on developing a framework to advance workforce development programs” in Rhode Island.
Paxson said that Brown will focus on supporting “high-quality programs that provide Rhode Islanders with the skills they need,” which she hopes will improve the standards of living for Rhode Island families.
On Sept. 30, the University submitted “aggregated admissions data on race, ethnicity, test scores and GPAs for applicants, admitted students and enrolled students entering in the 2025-26 academic year” as well as “reports of harassment and discrimination made to Brown’s Office of Equity and Compliance Reporting,” Paxson said.
Brown also shared a “confidential draft of the campus climate survey” with the federal government, which included questions regarding antisemitism on campus, as required by the agreement.
“We used this opportunity to gather exactly the same information for other types of harassment and discrimination, such as Islamophobia, transphobia,” Paxson said. “This is a survey for everybody.”
Samah Hamid is a senior staff writer at the Herald. She is from Sharon, Massachusetts and plans to concentrate in Biology. In her free time, you can find her taking a nap, reading, or baking a sweet treat.
