Brown strikes $50 million deal with Trump administration to regain federal funds

Brown University said on Wednesday it has reached an agreement with the Trump administration to resolve federal investigations into alleged discrimination and regain access to suspended research funding, a move that comes with significant policy concessions aligned with the president’s political agenda.

The Ivy League institution will pay USD 50 million over 10 years to workforce development organisations in Rhode Island and adopt several changes, including using the federal definition of “male” and “female” and removing all consideration of race in admissions decisions.

Despite these terms, Brown President Christina H Paxson said the agreement safeguards the university’s academic independence.

“The University’s foremost priority throughout discussions with the government was remaining true to our academic mission, our core values and who we are as a community at Brown,” Paxson said in a statement.

The three-year agreement closely mirrors a similar deal struck last week between Columbia University and the administration, which the government described as a model for other institutions. Unlike Columbia’s deal, however, Brown’s does not require an outside monitor to oversee compliance.

The federal government has frozen dozens of research grants and contracts amid its investigation into Brown’s handling of campus antisemitism allegations, especially after pro-Palestinian protests erupted last spring. Under the deal, the government will also reimburse the university USD 50 million in unpaid federal grant expenses.

Brown has also committed to a series of measures aimed at addressing antisemitism, including renewing ties with Israeli academic institutions and encouraging applications from Jewish day school students.

By the end of the year, the school must partner with a government-approved third party to conduct a comprehensive survey of the campus climate for Jewish students.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Brown’s deal ensures students will be judged “solely on their merits, not their race or sex.” “The Trump Administration is successfully reversing the decades-long woke-capture of our nation’s higher education institutions,” McMahon said in a statement.

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