The relationship between American colleges and universities, and the larger society has long been shaped
by the academic social contract: an implicit agreement in which even nominally private institutions provide myriad services to society in exchange for public subsidy, autonomy, and prestige. While its terms have evolved over time, in recent years the academic social contract has eroded as never before in U.S. history. Its continued decline would be a great detriment to the U.S. academy and to the nation. We sketch the origin and evolution of the academic social contract; summarize the political, economic, and competitive dynamics that have eroded the contract from its zenith during the twentieth-century Cold War; and advocate for private universities to take proactive leadership in renegotiating the contract to address the most pressing civic challenges of our time.