“A number of the proposed federal recommendations deserve thoughtful consideration as our national higher education system could benefit from reforms that have been much too slow to develop,” University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella wrote in a statement addressed to the campus community.
"In fact, many of the proposed ideas are already in place at the U of A. At the same time, principles like academic freedom, merit-based research funding, and institutional independence are foundational and must be preserved.
“As a result, the university has not agreed to the terms outlined in the draft proposal,” but instead has submitted to the U.S. Department of Education its existing Statement of Principles enumerating such university policies as merit-based hiring and prioritizing admission of qualified Arizona students and applicants from U.S. tribal nations, Garimella wrote.
While the other seven schools have now all rejected the Compact (see MIT, Brown, UPenn, USC, UVA, and Dartmouth), UT Austin and Vanderbilt are remaining silent although the deadline given by the administration expired on Monday.
In an update from Vanderbilt, the university didn’t accept of reject the Compact, but instead it plans to provide feedback, according to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier.
“Since the compact could directly affect our teaching, research and other operations, our policy of institutional neutrality not only permits comment by the university’s leadership, it encourages it,” Diermeier said. “Therefore, Vanderbilt will continue to share our point of view with the administration, just as we have previously shared our perspective at the local, state and federal level — most recently regarding the tax on university endowments and proposed restrictions on visas for international students.”
Diermeier also discussed the importance of academic freedom, free expression and merit-based research awards in his email and mentioned that community input continues to be invaluable in the process of responding to the compact.
Since the compact was sent to Vanderbilt almost three weeks ago, students, faculty and community members have created petitions, organized rallies and passed resolutions expressing their opinions on whether Vanderbilt should sign the compact.
“We look forward to continuing the conversation — on our campus and with leaders in government and higher education — as we work toward our shared goal of restoring public trust in higher education and ensuring that America’s universities remain the best in the world,” Diermeier said.