Brown University President Christina Paxson announced on Wednesday that she declined to sign a memorandum from the Trump administration, making Brown the second university to reject the proposal sent to nine prestigious institutions. The memo outlined specific guidelines for receiving favorable consideration for federal funding. In a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Paxson stated that agreeing to the terms of the memo would impede academic freedom and undermine Brown’s governance autonomy, contradicting a previous agreement signed with the administration in July.
President Donald Trump has been targeting what he perceives as left-wing extremist ideologies in American universities, accusing them of promoting anti-American and antisemitic sentiments. The memo, titled “A Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” requested the nine universities to limit international undergraduate enrollment to 15%, prohibit the consideration of race or sex in admissions and hiring, and define gender based on biological factors. MIT was the first university among the nine to reject signing the compact.
According to the memo, institutions deviating from the outlined guidelines risk losing federal benefits, while compliant schools may receive rewards. The administration has terminated multimillion-dollar federal contracts with several universities to pressure them into altering their policies on admissions and hiring. Legal actions have resulted in the restoration of some of the federal funding cuts.
Brown University, situated in Providence, Rhode Island, previously entered into an agreement with the administration, committing $50 million over ten years to support workforce development in the state. In return, the university’s federal funding for medical and health sciences was reinstated. Paxson highlighted in her letter that the July agreement explicitly states the government’s lack of authority to dictate curriculum or academic speech content, a principle absent in the Compact.
White House spokeswoman Liz Huston stated that President Trump aims to enhance academic standards and logic in higher education institutions. Trump emphasized on social media his administration’s continued efforts to address discriminatory practices based on race or sex in schools. The White House clarified that apart from the nine elite universities, no other schools have been approached regarding a similar agreement.
The White House’s initiative is aimed at ushering in a new era of academic excellence in higher education.