Brown University followed MIT in rejecting the White House’s Compact for Academic Excellence, with Brown President Christina Paxson warning the compact’s provisions would undermine academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The compact — which offered preferential federal treatment in exchange for measures such as five‑year tuition freezes, caps on international undergraduates and constraints on campus units tied to ideology — drew immediate pushback from faculty governance groups and free‑speech advocates. The administration broadened the invitation after sending the compact to nine research institutions; some public systems signaled interest while other elite private universities rejected the deal. Campus leaders are weighing legal, financial and governance risks as the offer complicates existing negotiations over federal research funding and past settlements with the federal government.