Brown University has reached a deal with the Trump administration to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding for research.
University President Christina Paxson announced the deal on Wednesday, saying Brown had agreed to pay $50 million over 10 years to workforce development groups. The university will also enact a number of policies to prevent discrimination, as well as make other adjustments at the behest of the Trump administration.
“At its core, the agreement preserves the integrity of Brown’s academic foundation, and it enables us as a community to move forward after a period of considerable uncertainty in a way that ensures Brown will continue to be the Brown that our students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and friends have known for generations,” said Paxson in an open letter announcing the deal.
Brown University struck an agreement as the Trump administration puts pressure on elite institutions to reform their campus policies. The Trump administration has targeted universities over free speech concerns, antisemitism, the inclusion of males in female sports, and other issues.
In April, the Trump administration froze $510 million in taxpayer funding to Brown University over concerns of rampant antisemitism on its campus. The university had been one of a number of schools rocked by anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protesters. The university had initially chosen to engage with the protesters before rejecting their terms instead of cracking down on violations.
Paxson in her letter said the university underwent significant strains during its struggle with the Trump administration over half a billion dollars in funding. The university took a $300 million loan in April after the funding freeze went into effect, and then in a filing last week, the university revealed it had taken another loan with $500 million.
“[F]or the last few months, many of these aspects of our mission and our community have been under threat,” the university president wrote. “Beyond the financial stresses of terminated and unpaid research grants and contracts, we have observed a growing push for government intrusion into the fundamental academic operations of colleges and universities, and with the stated purpose of compelling a commitment to comply with laws focused on prohibitions against antisemitism and discrimination.”
As part of the agreement, the university has promised to codify definitions for “male” and “female” and develop policies around athletics and housing to align with federal standards. The university will also promise to not perform sex mutilation surgeries.
“The University will not perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child’s appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex,” the agreement states.
The university has also agreed to revamping commitments to protect Jewish students on campus, as well as end discriminatory policies in its admissions process and elsewhere in the university.