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“The Arizona Board of Regents is continuing to engage with university leadership as it evaluates the compact,� said Megan Gilbertson, associate vice president for communications for ABOR, before the meeting Friday. The board oversees the state's three public universities including the U of A. 

The virtual meeting, closed to the public, started at 4 p.m. and adjourned shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17. 

The executive session came the same day the White House scheduled a meeting via phone call with the U of A and the other four universities, out of the nine invited to join the compact, that had not yet decided: Dartmouth College, the University of Texas, the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University.

By late Friday afternoon, the University of Virginia had announced its rejection of the compact, as well, joining previous announcements by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California. The universities said the compact infringes on academic freedom and free speech, among other concerns. 

The compact has no takers so far. 

The Trump administration has set a Monday deadline for the universities to get back to the White House with "limited, targeted feedback� on the compact, but has said the document is “largely in final form.� The deadline for universities to sign on is Nov. 21.

The compact asks the schools’ leaders to agree to ban the use of race or sex in hiring and admissions, freeze tuition for five years, cap international undergrad enrollment at 15%, change or abolish units that criticize “conservative� ideologies, and ban university employees from speaking about any societal or political event unless it directly impacts the university, among many other requirements.

The compact suggests the universities would receive priority access to federal money for signing, while the White House has also warned that those that don't sign risk losing federal benefits. 

In a Thursday interview with the ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV, Garimella said he is “working togetherâ€� with faculty, students, state lawmakers, university presidents across the country and Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office on a decision.

The U of A is tracking all feedback coming in but no decision had been made, he said.

“We are grateful for all the feedback we’re getting," Garimella said, adding that U of A administrators are engaged in “many, many conversations with faculty, staff, students, etc."

Since the compact was proposed on Oct. 1, there has been strong opposition from faculty and student government leaders at the UA and from the Tucson City Council and the Pima County Board of Supervisors, who have passed resolutions urging Garimella not to sign. Additionally, a group of 80 Regents and Distinguished professors have asked Garimella to reject the compact.

The American Council on Education, along with over 30 higher education organizations, put out a statement Friday also opposing the compact, saying it amounts to "nothing less than government control of a university’s basic and necessary freedoms — the freedoms to decide who we teach, what we teach, and who teaches."

“The compact is just the kind of excessive federal overreach and regulation, to the detriment of state and local input and control, that this administration says it is against,� said the statement. The compact “would hamper the ability of colleges and universities to innovate and make advancements that contribute to our nation’s economic well-being and security. It would hinder, not safeguard, freedom of expression for all points of view, and it will not assist in expanding social and economic mobility for all of our students.�

The American Council on Education represents 1,600 U.S. colleges, universities and related higher-education institutions.