The following is a statement from AAU President Barbara R. Snyder regarding the administration's recently proposed higher education compact:
The administration’s proposed compact begins with a powerful truth: “American higher education is the envy of the world and represents a key strategic benefit for our Nation.” We agree.
We also agree with many of the general principles stated in the compact. For example, our members champion efforts to make higher education more affordable and accessible for students and families. Our members are also deeply committed to fostering a vibrant marketplace of ideas grounded in academic freedom and civil discourse on our campuses. Our members, in compliance with the letter and the spirit of the law, do not engage in unlawful discrimination in their admissions, hiring or promotional practices. And our members are willing partners in securing the U.S. research enterprise to continue to benefit our nation.
At the same time, we recognize and embrace the need for reflection, critical review, and continuous improvement. Research universities are neither static nor complacent. They have always adapted and will continue to change in response to advancements in knowledge, technological innovations, and evolving social conditions and expectations. Our universities have a responsibility to continue to find new ways to serve the country, its people, and the communities and states in which they reside.
We have significant concerns, however, about any compact or policy that could damage, compromise, or depart from our nation’s competitive, merit-based system of research grant funding. That system has been the foundation for American leadership in science and innovation for decades. Since World War II, the special partnership among the federal government, industry, and research universities has fueled tremendous growth in our economy, educated the next generation of the highly skilled American workforce, contributed to the health of our people, and made our nation safer and more secure.
American higher education became the envy of the world because of the independence of our colleges and universities and their commitment to the pursuit of academic and research excellence within the bounds of the law and free from political influence. Federal support for higher education must never be tied to ideological alignment with any administration.
While we cannot compromise the foundational principles that have made—and will continue to make—American higher education the envy of the world, we would welcome the opportunity to work with the administration to reimagine the important partnership between the federal government and research universities.
Founded in 1900, the Association of American Universities is composed of America’s leading research universities. AAU’s 71 research universities transform lives through education, research, and innovation.
Our member universities earn the majority of competitively awarded federal funding for research that improves public health, seeks to address national challenges, and contributes significantly to our economic strength, while educating and training tomorrow’s visionary leaders and innovators.
AAU member universities collectively help shape policy for higher education, science, and innovation; promote best practices in undergraduate and graduate education; and strengthen the contributions of leading research universities to American society.
Follow AAU on Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, and Bluesky.