Paxson’s refusal underscores a growing resistance among elite universities to federal pressure that they view as infringing on institutional autonomy and academic freedom. By rejecting the compact, Brown joins MIT in signaling that compliance with administratively dictated policies—such as capping international student enrollment, limiting consideration of race or sex in admissions, and defining gender strictly by biology—would constitute an unacceptable encroachment on educational governance.
The administration framed the compact as a pathway to preferential federal funding, threatening schools that do not comply with the loss of federal contracts or other financial benefits. Many institutions, including Brown, have already experienced disruptions to federal funding due to previous disputes over similar policy demands, some of which courts have ordered to be restored.
Brown’s July agreement with the administration, which involved a $50 million commitment to workforce development in Rhode Island, explicitly protected the university’s ability to control its curriculum and academic speech. Paxson emphasized that the compact’s requirements would contravene that agreement, effectively undermining the principle that universities retain independent authority over their educational content and internal governance.
The White House, meanwhile, has maintained that the compact represents a broader effort to enforce “academic excellence” and eliminate ideologically driven policies on campuses, presenting it as a voluntary framework for universities to participate in a so-called Golden Age of higher education. Critics argue, however, that the initiative effectively coerces compliance through financial incentives and punitive measures, raising concerns about federal overreach into institutional decision-making.
Brown’s stance reflects a broader debate over the balance between federal oversight, funding priorities, and academic freedom, highlighting the tensions between political agendas and the autonomy of higher education institutions.
