In a significant development, Brown University has agreed to provide $50 million to workforce development organizations in Rhode Island as a settlement with the Trump administration. This arrangement, announced Wednesday, restores federal research funding that had been previously withdrawn and concludes ongoing investigations into alleged discriminatory practices.
Under the settlement, Brown is tasked with implementing several measures in line with the political agenda of the Trump administration. Specifically, the university will adopt federally defined gender terms and remove racial considerations from its admissions procedures. However, Brown President Christina H. Paxson has emphasized that these terms do not undermine the universityโs academic independence, citing clauses in the agreement that prevent government interference in the schoolโs curriculum or academic speech.
Paxson stated that the universityโs main objective during negotiations was to uphold its academic mission and values intrinsic to the Brown community. This settlement emerges as one of several engagements between Ivy League institutions and the Trump administration, which has actively sought changes at universities it claims are dominated by leftist and antisemitic tendencies. Federal probes into diversity and inclusion initiatives at such institutions have suggested discrimination against white and Asian American students.
The settlement with Brown parallels a recent agreement with Columbia University, which the administration described as a potential template for other schools. Though similar, Brownโs settlement uniquely omits the involvement of an independent monitor. The three-year arrangement not only reinstates numerous grants and contracts but also involves reimbursing the university $50 million for previously unpaid federal grant expenses.
This settlement concludes three federal investigations tied to allegations of antisemitism and racial bias in Brownโs admissions processes, with no legal violations found. Paxson addressed potential inquiries about the rationale for settling despite the absence of legal faults, explaining that Brown has been under financial pressure from federal entities amidst heightened governmental intervention in academic affairs.
Brown is committed to honoring its principles by safeguarding community members from discrimination while allowing academic freedom. To address concerns of antisemitism, Brown plans to bolster partnerships with Israeli scholars and promote applications from Jewish day school students. Additionally, a joint selection by the university and the government will result in hiring an external organization to perform a campus climate survey for Jewish students.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon emphasized that the agreement ensures merit-based student evaluations, devoid of racial or gender bias. She credited the Trump administration for countering what she termed a longstanding liberal dominance in higher education.
As part of the settlement, Brown is mandated to provide comprehensive data about its applicants, including their race, academic achievements, and standardized test results, to be subjected to a government audit. The university is expressly forbidden from prioritizing applicants based on race or employing any alternate criteria representing racial preferences. While a 2023 Supreme Court ruling already prohibits racial considerations, this agreement further restricts Brown from using criteria like personal essays to influence admissions decisions.
The $50 million payment by Brown will be distributed over a decade to local workforce development programs, marking a departure from previous settlements where institutions faced fines payable to the government. Ted Mitchell, the President of the American Council on Education, views the financial commitment as progress but questions whether universities like Brown are truly free from governmental influence.
Columbia University previously settled a related case by agreeing to pay $200 million, while the Trump administration is urging Harvard University in ongoing negotiations to agree to a more substantial financial settlement. In a separate deal, the University of Pennsylvania consented to amend records related to a transgender swimmer without incurring fines.