March 27, 2026 | 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM (Eastern)
Faculty are deeply involved in areas regulated by federal policy--from graduate admissions, to faculty and trainee hiring, to federal funding and the indirect costs they bear... Yet, most Ivy+ faculty may not appreciate impactful aspects of applicable law--until something changes to their detriment.
This virtual colloquium will offer a Washington, D.C. perspective for participants regarding:
The current federal executive branch’s approach to institutional – and faculty – autonomy
Challenges to legislating and regulating meaningful “policy” in the current environment
Differing views about what “the law” is, and why this is a significant legal and practical concern
Resorting to the courts and the policy impact of court orders
The critical importance of grassroots storytelling and engagement by faculty, with policymakers as well as community and business leaders
Examples during discussion will be drawn from issues pertaining to Title VI and Title IX, federal research funding, international students and other community members, “DEI” and others.
Our conversation will be led by Jessie Brown and Peter McDonough, whose experiences and perspectives are drawn from their current roles as executive vice president (Jessie) and general counsel (Peter) to the American Council on Education, which addresses the national implications of federal policy changes, and their prior roles that include being senior counsel in the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education (Jessie) and general counsel for Princeton University (Peter).
Their interactive session will engage faculty in what they need to know in the current moment in terms that faculty will find understandable, relatable, and actionable. Participants will leave with ideas about how they, individually or collectively, can be stronger partners in leadership through times of rapid and dramatic change.
ARRIVE TO ENGAGE
How many faculty in your department or school/college now face serious obstacles in their progression to tenure or promotion? If you don’t know, could it be an agenda item for your next department meeting? Which units at your university, if any, are considering changes to faculty evaluation protocols as a result of changes to federal funding or other policies?
Colloquium Leaders
Peter McDonough
Peter McDonough focuses on a wide range of higher education legal issues, including student and faculty affairs, athletics, campus safety and security, intellectual property, compliance and institutional governance. McDonough informs ACE’s judicial and regulatory advocacy on these and other legal issues.
He is the former general counsel of Princeton University, where he was responsible for all institutional legal advice and representation. He was personally attentive to a broad array of matters ranging from student conduct, employment, diversity and inclusion to research integrity, construction and restricted funds usage. McDonough joined Princeton’s legal staff in 1990. As general counsel from 2002-14, he was part of the university's senior management team and served on a variety of institutional committees, including the Executive Compliance Committee and the Conflicts of Interest Review Panel.
McDonough has been active in the National Association of College and University Attorneys, serving on its board of directors, chairing its Committee on Legal Education and serving as a member or co-chair of various other committees.
Jessie Brown
Jessie Brown serves as the executive vice president at ACE, where she leads strategic and external engagement initiatives across the Council. She oversees Communications and Public Affairs, Advancement and Membership, Research, Carnegie Classifications, and the Office of the President.
Brown joined ACE from the National Association of College and University Attorneys, where she served as deputy chief executive officer and executive director of legal resources. In that role, she led much of NACUA's programming and practice work, including developing a suite of programs to assist campuses responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to NACUA, Brown served as the national senior director of legal affairs at Year Up, Inc., a national workforce development organization focused on supporting young adults in reaching their career and higher education potential by providing intensive skills training and experiential learning.
Brown served as senior counsel in the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education in the Obama Administration from 2015–17, during which time she worked on a wide range of equity and anti-discrimination initiatives. Brown also previously spent several years at ACE, serving as associate general counsel from 2009–15. She began her legal career as a law fellow in New York University’s Office of General Counsel.
Ivy+ FAN Virtual Colloquium:
Federal Higher Education Policy
Dialogues for Ivy+ faculty who want to understand how their universities work and the roles faculty can play in helping them work better.