WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Brown University rejects Trump administration proposal it would provide favorable access to funding in exchange for a wide range of obligations, saying the deal would restrict academic freedom and undermine the university's independence.
Brown is the latest university to reject the proposal, which White House officials said would bring “multiple positive benefits,” including “substantial and meaningful federal grants.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology retreated from the proposal made last week after its president said it would restrict free speech and campus autonomy.
Brown President Christina Paxson rejected the proposal Wednesday in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and White House officials. The Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island, agrees to some provisions of the proposal, including commitments to accessibility and equal opportunity in admissions, but cannot agree to others, she said.
“I am concerned that the Agreement, by its nature and various provisions, will restrict academic freedom and undermine Brown’s governance autonomy, critically compromising our ability to carry out our mission,” Paxson wrote.
Brown and MIT were among nine universities asked this month to become “first signatories” to the proposal. University of Texas system officials said they were honored to be invited while most others remained silent. The Trump administration requested feedback from universities by Oct. 20 and requested a decision no later than Nov. 21.
Brown previously made a deal with the Trump administration to restore lost research funding and end federal discrimination investigations.
In that settlement, finalized in July, Brown agreed to pay $50 million to labor organizations in Rhode Island. He also agreed to adopt the federal government's definition of “male” and “female” to, among other things, eliminate diversity goals in admissions and renew partnerships with Israeli scientists.
Unlike that deal, which includes a clause affirming Brown's academic freedom, Paxson said there is no guarantee in the new proposal that the university will retain control over its curriculum or academic speech. Her refusal is consistent with the views of “the vast majority of Brown's stakeholders,” Paxson wrote.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, President Donald Trump suggested that other campuses could step forward and participate in the agreement. Those who want to return to the “pursuit of truth and achievement,” he said, “are invited to enter into a forward-looking agreement with the federal government to help achieve a golden age of academic excellence in higher education.”
In its letter to universities, the administration said the compact would strengthen and renew the “mutually beneficial relationship” between universities and government. The agreement is an active attempt at reform, even as the government continues to enforce it through other means, the letter said.
The proposal includes several commitments on admissions, women's sports and free speech. Much of it focuses on promoting conservative causes, including by abolishing “institutional units that purposefully punish, disparage, and even incite violence against conservative ideas.”
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