University of Virginia solicited community feedback on the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence and reported overwhelming opposition; UVA ultimately rejected the compact but later entered a separate DOJ agreement to pause investigations. Harvard, by contrast, has not reached a settlement with the administration and remains in dispute over demands tied to restored research funding. At UVA, more than 2,000 campus responses called for rejecting compact provisions that would alter hiring, admissions, and academic policy in exchange for preferential federal funding. Faculty leaders and student groups flagged constitutional and academic‑freedom concerns. Harvard has faced intense pressure and legal scrutiny but has so far stopped short of a deal, reflecting divergent institutional responses to administration incentives. The episodes illustrate a broader national contest: some institutions are negotiating conditional funding restorations while others litigate, generating uncertainty for campus research administrators, faculty governance bodies, and federal relations teams.