As opposition mounts from faculty, students and state leaders, University of Arizona officials are assuring the public that “no decisions have been made” on whether to sign a pledge to align with President Donald Trump’s political agenda in exchange for preferential access to federal funds.
University leadership and the Arizona Board of Regents are reviewing the Trump administration’s compact letter “to fully understand its content, scope, legal ramifications, and potential implications,” UA spokesperson Mitch Zak told Arizona Luminaria Tuesday.
Zak added that they are in communication with UA faculty’s shared governance leaders and other universities that have received the offer.
Megan Gilbertson, a spokesperson for the Arizona Board of Regents, said the board continues “to engage with university leadership as it evaluates the letter.”
The promise of communication with and feedback from UA stakeholders before deciding on the Trump administration’s demands came one day after the faculty senate voted Monday to oppose the 10-point compact from the U.S. Secretary of Education.
In addition to not signing the agreement, the faculty senate’s resolution calls for UA President Suresh Garimella and the board of regents to “reject any similar proposal compromising the mission, values and independence of the University.” The resolution passed with 40 votes in favor, eight opposed and one abstention.
The senate is the UA’s governing body that represents the faculty and is made up of 56 elected members, including 10 ex-officio, two staff council representatives, and seven student representatives for a total of 75 voting members. University leaders work with the faculty senate to make campus decisions, including about academic curriculum, personnel policies and strategic and financial planning.
Garimella — along with eight other prominent university presidents across the country — received the compact with an email on Oct. 1. The message states that signing and abiding by the compact would result in potential benefits for the university, including higher overhead allowances, substantial federal grants and other federal partnerships.
It also sets deadlines for feedback and signing, allowing “limited, targeted feedback, with written comments” by Oct. 20 and setting a target signing date for Nov. 21.
Read the email and the compact here:
“This is extortion”
Patricia Prelock, the university’s provost and chief academic officer, said during the faculty senate meeting she had plans to meet with the senators Tuesday to discuss the options ahead.
Professors, staff and students lined the walls of the packed Silver and Sage room at the university Monday afternoon as faculty senators took turns speaking on the implications of signing the agreement and taking a stance. Another 234 people signed on virtually to listen when discussion of the resolution began at the meeting aired live.
“Our academic colleagues around the country and our local community are looking to the University of Arizona with trepidation to see if we will stand up today,” Faculty Senate Chair Leila Hudson said at the meeting’s opening.
Most faculty spoke in opposition to the agreement, questioning its constitutionality and infringement on academic freedom and First Amendment rights.
“In this compact, the faculty and the staff are requested to give up their constitutional rights such that the administration can possibly receive funding for their pet projects,” said Lucy Ziurys, a Regents’ Professor of chemistry, biochemistry and astronomy.
“This is extortion,” Ziurys said
Among the discussion was speculation as to why Trump would choose to send the agreement to the University of Arizona. Marvin Slepian, a faculty senator and a professor of medicine, reasoned that UA was selected because of the college’s financial vulnerability.
“We’re like the USS Cole sitting in Yemen with a hole blown in its side,” Slepian said. “Sure, you can say, ‘Oh, it’s geographic diversity, and we are a Republican state, and all that stuff.’ But let’s be honest — we were an easy target.”
UA President Garimella has held federal science posts under both the Obama and Trump administrations.
Federal funding for research has been a pain point for the college amid dozens of federal research grant cancellations under the Trump administration. Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, the university’s Senior Vice President for Research and Partnerships, said they’ve seen a termination of 63 awards totalling almost $55 million dollars in lost federal funding for research.
Slepian and other senators urged the faculty senate to look beyond the possibility of Garimella signing the compact and toward a future with it.
“I’m curious about what we’re going to do moving forward. What if this compact turns into legislation?,” asked Carol Brochin, associate professor at the College of Education, during the meeting.
Tucson, state and national leaders weigh in
News of the compact rocked the local government. Tucson Ward 5 City Council Member Rocque Perez and Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz put forth a resolution opposing the compact, calling it an “unacceptable act of federal interference that undermines local control, academic freedom, and opportunity for our residents.” They urged UA leadership to reject the deal.
The city’s mayor and council are scheduled to vote on the resolution during their Oct. 8 council meeting.
U.S. House Rep. Greg Stanton, a Democrat who represents District 4 in the Phoenix area, sent a letter on Oct. 2 to Garimella urging him to reject the compact, stating that signing it would “bind the University of Arizona to Trump’s authoritarian project. Rejecting it would protect your students, your faculty, your mission, and your long-term reputation.”
The president of Dartmouth, Sian Leah Beilock — another compact recipient — responded to the Trump administration’s request on Oct. 3 stressing freedom from partisan political pressure.
“I am deeply committed to Dartmouth’s academic mission and values and will always defend our fierce independence. You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better. At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves,” said the Ivy League university president.
Arizona Luminaria reached out on Oct. 8 to Garimella for comment on the faculty senate vote and the compact.
“We recognize that this proposal has generated a wide range of reactions and perspectives within our community and beyond,” said Garimella in an unsigned Oct. 9 statement on the university’s website. “We will continue to keep our community informed as this process moves forward.”
The American Association of Colleges and Universities also released a statement on Oct. 3 calling the compact “an ultimatum” that ties funding to political ideology.
The ultimate decision to sign the compact — tying the university’s federal funding to its adherence to conditions in line with the Trump administration’s priorities — is in Garimella and the board of regents’ hands.
The Arizona Board of Regents is the state’s governing body for its public universities, setting systemwide policy and overseeing tuition, budgets, academic programs, capital plans, and the hiring of university presidents. Though mostly appointed by partisan governors, a position on the 12-member board is officially non-partisan as board members are expected to act in the institutions’ best interest.
Currently, four out of the 10 appointed regents were named by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, while the remainder were selected by former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. One of Hobbs’ student regent appointments does not have voting rights because they are in the first year of their term.
Hobbs and Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne are both “ex-officio members,” each with voting rights and serving while they hold elected office.
Hobbs has been a vocal opponent of the Trump administration and vetoed several bills passed by the state’s Republican-majority Legislature that aligned with the president’s policies. Horne is an outspoken Republican and has publicly supported several Trump administration policies, including the president’s efforts to remove diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at universities and impose mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education.
University leadership drew criticism in February after removing the phrase “committed to diversity and inclusion” from its online land acknowledgment and scrubbing equity initiatives from its website — including the Office of Diversity and Inclusion webpage — amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration. The move prompted Indigenous leaders to rally behind a Native American law student who spoke publicly against the changes.
In May, UA faculty voted overwhelmingly with 91% of nearly 1,000 votes to urge university leaders to take a public stand against the Trump administration’s funding cuts and demands, which they said threatened academic freedom.
This story has been updated with an Oct. 9 statement from UA President Suresh Garimella.
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