A second university — like the first helmed by a Jewish woman — has rejected the Trump administration’s offer of special funding in exchange for an array of concessions.
Brown University’s president, Christina Paxson, announced the decision on Wednesday, releasing the letter she sent to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and her staff. In the letter, she explained that while Brown remains committed to the agreement it struck in June to restore $50 million in federal funding that had been frozen over allegations of antisemitism, she could not abide by the terms of the new deal, which the Trump administration is calling the “Compact.”
“While a number of provisions in the Compact reflect similar principles as the July agreement — as well as our own commitments to affordability and the free exchange of ideas — I am concerned that the Compact by its nature and by various provisions would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance, critically compromising our ability to fulfill our mission,” Paxson wrote in the letter.
Brown follows the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in rejecting the deal, which would have required limits on employees’ political speech and “transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.” The proposal reflects the Trump administration’s strategy of wielding federal funding as both a carrot and stick to pursue its ideological agenda.
Like MIT’s president, Sally Kornbluth, Paxson is Jewish and has cultivated the support of her campus’ Jewish community even amid concerns about the handling of pro-Palestinian student protests last year.
Paxson had not immediately rejected the deal the Trump administration had offered to nine schools that it said were “good actors,” instead saying that the decision would incorporate feedback from the Brown community. She said in an email to the community that thousands of people had responded.
Paxson drew criticism from some quarters last year after she announced that student advocates of divestment from Israel would be permitted to make their case before a vote by Brown’s board of trustees. The board then rejected divestment.
Seven universities, including both private colleges and public systems, have not yet responded to the Trump administration’s latest offer.
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