The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill publicly rejected the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence,” saying it will not sign the proposal as drafted. Chancellor Lee Roberts told faculty the compact—offering preferential federal funding in exchange for sweeping admissions, hiring and tuition constraints—contains elements that are “difficult or impossible” for the campus to accept. The invite list included elite institutions such as MIT, Penn and UVA; most initially invited universities declined. So far only New College of Florida and Valley Forge Military Academy have signaled they will sign. UNC’s refusal underscores widening resistance on campuses to federal strings tied to funding and raises questions about whether the administration can secure meaningful buy‑in for its policy aims. The standoff spotlights tensions between federal funding leverage and institutional autonomy at public flagship universities and signals broader sector pushback against prescriptive national mandates.