Brown University strikes $50m deal to end Trump administration pressure

Brown University has become the third Ivy League campus to reach a deal with the administration of United States President Donald Trump, in a bid to restore frozen federal funding.

The agreement, announced on Wednesday, is the latest instance of an elite US school bargaining with the president and acceding to his demands.

As part of the deal, Brown will pay $50m over 10 years to improve Rhode Island’s workforce development programmes. It will also commit to supporting its local Jewish community and restricting its acknowledgement of transgender students.

The agreement comes amid a wider campaign by the Trump administration to withhold federal funds from elite universities in an effort to stem “woke” ideology and combat anti-Semitism.

Opponents say the administration’s efforts are politically motivated and out of step with reality, but have acknowledged that many administrators feel they have little choice but to acquiesce amid the funding pressures.

Earlier this month, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University both inked their own deals with Trump.

The University of Pennsylvania agreed to comply with Trump’s stance on transgender athletes, but Columbia was forced to pay a settlement of $200m, in addition to complying with several demands about admission and hiring.

His administration had severed funds and opened investigations into both schools, as it has with Brown as well.

In a statement, Brown President Christina Paxson said her school’s deal preserves its academic independence.

She highlighted a clause that says the government cannot dictate curriculum or the content of academic speech at Brown.

“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.

Still, the agreement includes many similarities to the controversial Columbia University deal, including measures to address alleged anti-Semitism following widespread protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.

Advocates have accused the Trump administration of intentionally mischaracterising the demonstrations to silence pro-Palestine voices.

According to the terms of the new deal, Brown will be required “to support a thriving Jewish community, research and education about Israel, and a robust Program in Judaic Studies”.

It will also have to conduct a survey to ensure a welcoming campus climate, including for Jewish students and faculty.

In addition, the deal reflects other Trump priorities, including his opposition to the inclusion of transgender people in campus housing and sports teams that reflect their gender identity.

Trump issued an executive order on January 20 saying that his government would only recognise two sexes, male and female, rejecting transgender identity altogether.

The president has also attempted to stamp out diversity initiatives, accusing them of being inherently discriminatory.

In his government’s agreement with Brown, the school agreed to provide a trove of data on the race, grades and standardised test scores of students who apply and are admitted to the university for a “comprehensive audit”.

The deal further bans Brown from using any “proxy for racial admission”, such as personal statements or “diversity narratives”.

Brown did, however, dodge a demand imposed on Columbia that would see an independent monitor appointed to ensure compliance with the deal.

In a statement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the agreement showed the Trump administration was “successfully reversing the decades-long woke-capture of our nation’s higher education institutions”.

While Brown will pay $50m into workforce development in its home state of Rhode Island, the Trump administration is slated to reimburse $50m in unpaid federal grant costs as part of the deal.

The Trump administration had been projected to withhold nearly $510m in grants and research funding from the school.

The president remains locked in a standoff with Harvard University, with administrators reportedly signalling this week that they were open to spending up to $500m to reach a deal.