Brown University refuses Trump’s government’s higher education pact

(MENAFN) Brown University President Christina Paxson formally rejected a compact proposed by the Trump administration on Wednesday, which would have prioritized federal research funding for universities that implemented specific higher education policies. Paxson cited significant concerns that the initiative could threaten academic freedom.

In a letter addressed to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and White House officials May Mailman and Vincent Haley, Paxson explained that accepting the terms “would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance.”

The memo, titled “A Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” had called on nine leading universities to cap international undergraduate enrollment at 15%, remove race and sex considerations from admissions and hiring, and adopt gender definitions strictly based on biological sex.

Earlier this year, in July, Brown reached a $50 million agreement with the US government to restore funding for federally sponsored medical and health sciences research and to resolve three ongoing reviews. Paxson emphasized that the university remains committed to that deal, which preserves Brown’s core values “in ways that the compact — in any form — fundamentally would not.”

While expressing willingness to cooperate with federal authorities, Paxson stressed that the existing agreement reinforces “the government’s lack of authority to dictate our curriculum or the content of academic speech — a principle that is not reflected in the Compact.”

Another major concern, Paxson noted, is that the compact implies future federal research funding could be influenced by political or ideological considerations rather than scientific merit.

“Therefore, while we value our long-held and well-regarded partnership with the federal government, Brown is respectfully declining to join the Compact,” she said.

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