Brown University has struck a $50 million settlement with the Trump administration to reinstate suspended federal funding and end three federal investigations into alleged discrimination, the varsity announced on Wednesday through its website and on social media.
Funding Restored, but at a Cost
The deal allows Brown University to recover dozens of frozen grants and $50 million in unpaid federal research costs. In return, the Ivy League school will pay $50 million over 10 years to Rhode Island-based workforce development programs.
The settlement comes just days after a similar deal was announced between the Trump administration and Columbia University. That agreement, which the US government described as a “roadmap for other universities,” reportedly required Columbia to pay $200 million. Brown University’s agreement, however, does not involve an outside monitor.
Concessions on Gender, Race and Data
Brown has agreed to adopt the federal government’s definitions of “male” and “female” and must eliminate any use of race in its admissions process, as reported by The Associated Press. This goes beyond the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed race-based admissions by also banning “proxies” like diversity essays or personal statements.
Additionally, the university will be required to share detailed admissions data with the government, including applicants’ race, grades and test scores. That data will be subject to a “comprehensive audit”, the report said.
Antisemitism Concerns
In response to federal probes into alleged antisemitism on campuses, Brown will reportedly take specific steps to support Jewish students, including launching new partnerships with Israeli academics and encouraging Jewish day school students to apply. A third-party campus climate survey focussed on Jewish students will also be conducted.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon praised the deal, saying, “The Trump Administration is successfully reversing the decades-long woke-capture of our nation’s higher education institutions,” as reported by the AP.
The agreement ensures applicants will be judged “solely on their merits, not their race or sex,” McMahon added.
Brown Says Academic Freedom Intact
Brown President Christina H. Paxson said the agreement preserves the university’s core values. “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,” she wrote in a campus-wide letter.
While the university admits no wrongdoing, Paxson said the deal helps avoid further “financial pressure” and “government intrusion” without compromising academic freedom.
“We protect the ability of our faculty and students to study and learn academic subjects of their choosing, free from censorship,” Paxson stressed.
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