Photo: Skyclad Aerial
Less than a week after turning down the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, the University of Virginia signed an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department on October 22.
Under the terms of the deal, the DOJ will suspend all ongoing investigations into civil rights violations at UVA, contingent on quarterly reports from the university’s president on progress toward full compliance. Unlike the Trump administration’s agreements with Columbia and Brown universities, there is no financial component or external compliance monitor built into UVA’s agreement.
Still, it raises concerns about the future of academic and institutional freedom.
“This three-month reporting framework is going to impact academic freedom,” says Walt Heinecke, past president of the UVA chapter of the American Association of University Professors. “No doubt, it’s going to instill a kind of permanent, ongoing fear amongst faculty members.”
In his October 22 message to the university community, interim President Paul Mahoney said he strongly believes “this agreement represents the best available path forward.”
The UVA chapter of AAUP had not issued a statement at press time, but will call for a rescission. Heinecke rejects the idea that this was “the best path forward.”
“They’re basically setting up a system by which there will be a perpetual sort of intrusion conducted by Mahoney on behalf of the Department of Justice,” he says. “This runs counter to everything Jefferson had in mind for this university.”
The full text of the agreement, which will run through 2028, can be found at federalinfo.virginia.edu.
