The University of Virginia solicited campus input on the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence and received more than 2,000 largely negative responses; UVA subsequently rejected the compact. The Chronicle obtained survey data showing broad opposition from faculty, staff and students to proposed changes affecting enrollment, hiring and grading tied to preferential federal funding. UVA then reached a separate voluntary resolution agreement with the Department of Justice to pause remaining civil‑rights investigations if the university pledged to follow the government’s interpretation of applicable laws—an outcome that has sparked concern among faculty and some lawmakers who say the DOJ deal raises similar issues as the compact. Campus governance and legal teams should note the sequence: public consultation influenced institutional posture, but external enforcement mechanisms prompted a more constrained resolution. The case underscores tensions institutions face when federal probes and conditional funding collide with internal stakeholder trust.