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UPDATE 10/22/25:
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 updating the government on progress toward full compliance with civil rights law. Unlike the Trump administration’s agreements with Columbia University and Brown University, there is not a financial component or external compliance monitor built into UVA’s agreement.
The FAQ portion of UVA’s federal information website states that the university entered the agreement as the “DOJ has the authority to impose significant sanctions if it concludes that a recipient of federal funding, such as UVA, has violated the law.”
According to the agreement, UVA will “apply Civil Rights Law internally according to the [DOJ] ‘Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination’ of July 29, 2025, so long as that Guidance remains in force and to the extent consistent with relevant judicial decisions.”
Depending on the interpretation of the document, spaces and programs at UVA—like the multicultural center or the LGBTQ center—could be labeled discriminatory.
The DOJ guidelines specifically label the creation of identity-based spaces as an unlawful practice, giving the example of a student study space in the subsection on segregation in facilities or resources: “A college receiving federal funds designates a ‘BIPOC-only study lounge,’ facially discouraging access by students of other races. Even if access is technically open to all, the identity-based focus creates a perception of segregation and may foster a hostile environment. This extends to any resource allocation—such as study spaces, computer labs, or event venues—that segregates access based on protected characteristics, even if intended to create ‘safe spaces.’ This does not apply to facilities that are single-sex based on biological sex to protect privacy or safety, such as restrooms, showers, locker rooms, or lodging.”
In his message to the UVA community, interim President Paul Mahoney said he strongly believes “this agreement represents the best available path forward. I encourage all members of the UVA community to review the full agreement.”
The full text of the agreement, which will run through 2028, can be found on federalinfo.virginia.edu.
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The University of Virginia became the fifth school to reject the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.
In an October 17 message to the university community, Interim President Paul Mahoney said that while some aspects of the compact align with UVA’s goals, it is vital that federal awards are based on merit rather than a contractual agreement. His announcement came hours after a White House meeting with several universities.
“The integrity of science and other academic work requires merit-based assessment of research and scholarship,” reads an excerpt from Mahoney’s response to the Department of Education. “We believe that the best path toward real and durable progress lies in an open and collaborative conversation.”
Prior to Mahoney’s announcement, more than a thousand protesters from student, faculty, and community organizations gathered on the Lawn to oppose the compact.
“Today’s events demonstrate the power of collective organizing and action to defeat tyranny,” said organizers Laura Goldblatt and Walt Heinecke in a joint statement following Mahoney’s announcement. “We hope that we serve as an example to the other public universities that received the ‘Compact’ … giving them the courage and clarity not to buckle.”
Demonstrations were coordinated at some of the other universities, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which rejected the offer on October 10, Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, Dartmouth College, and the University of Arizona all declining to sign the compact.
Of the nine schools that were originally contacted, seven have rejected the compact, and two—the University of Texas, and Vanderbilt University—have not yet responded.
