The Trump administration has reached a deal worth tens of millions of dollars with Brown University that will reinstate federal funding to the school. The move marks a second significant agreement with a renowned institution after a more than $220 million settlement during the week of July 20 with Columbia University.
In exchange for Brown agreeing to a number of stipulations which aim to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the Trump administration will reestablish all formerly frozen grants from the Department of Health and Human Services, reinstate the university’s eligibility for future federal funds and close all ongoing investigations into the school, a White House official told CNN.
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Where will the money go?
As part of the agreement announced on Wednesday, July 30, the Rhode Island school will pay $50 million in grants over 10 years to the state’s workforce development organizations, according to a press release from Brown University President Christina Paxson.
Paxson noted in a letter that the university is not making “any payments or fines to the federal government.”
How is it different from Columbia University’s deal?
The deal differs from Columbia’s agreement, which requires the school to pay $200 million to the Treasury Department over a three-year period. Columbia also has to pay $21 million to settle investigations led by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Paxson stressed that the deal does not give the Trump administration any power to “dictate Brown’s curriculum or the content of academic speech.”
“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,” Paxson said.
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Linda McMahon released a statement declaring, “The Trump administration is successfully reversing the decades-long-woke-capture of our nation’s higher education institutions.”
What will change?
The terms of the deal state that Brown must “not engage in unlawful racial discrimination in admissions or university programming.” The school is also required to provide yearly reports to the Trump administration with data related to the subject, including admissions data on race.
The university is also set to implement definitions of “male” and “female” following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year. The order dealt with “women’s sports, programming, facilities and housing,” as reported by CNN.
The resolution agreement also states that the institution’s health centers “will not perform gender reassignment surgeries on minors or prescribe them puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones.” Additionally, Brown “will take steps to improve the campus climate for Jewish students.”
Part of those efforts to combat antisemitism include conducting a survey on campus life for its Jewish students. The survey is said to feature questions about whether Jewish students feel safe on campus and their comfort in reporting incidents of antisemitism. It’s also slated to include student recommendations on how Brown can reduce harassment on campus and through social media, according to the resolution agreement.
Paxson’s remarks
Paxson said most of the deal’s rules codify policies and practices already in place. But she did acknowledge that some changes were due to pressure from the Trump administration.
“There are other aspects of the agreement that were not part of previous federal review of Brown policies but are priorities of the federal administration in resolving the funding freeze.”
What happens next?
The deal reportedly now frees up more than $500 million in previously frozen grants. The money was on hold as the Trump administration probed the university’s DEI agenda and its response to accusations of antisemitism on campus.
The Trump administration had reportedly aimed for Columbia’s agreement to be the blueprint for other schools, noting Brown and Cornell Universities were on the brink of deals, as Straight Arrow News reported just days ago.
Meanwhile, the administration has started an investigation into Duke University, including its medical and law schools.
The White House also remains in a legal battle with Harvard. However, The New York Times reports that the school is considering a potentially half-billion-dollar settlement to resolve the lawsuits.
