University that already shook hands with Trump rejects latest proposal

Brown University announced on Wednesday that it has rejected the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence despite signing a resolution agreement with the federal government in July.

The administration offered Brown and eight other schools an optional agreement requiring the schools to refrain from hiking tuition prices and using illegal race-based preferences in admissions in exchange for preferential treatment in grant decisions. Brown is the second school to reject the proposal, just a week after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“But 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,” Brown’s announcement reads.

The Ivy League institution said it shares the goal of maintaining a healthy relationship with the federal government and intends to uphold its July agreement.

Brown entered the July resolution agreement with the Trump administration after the federal government froze $510 million in grants to the university, accusing it of failing to address antisemitism on campus and continuing to use illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Along with paying $50 million, Brown agreed to adopt the biological definitions of “male” and “female,” combat antisemitism and prove it is not racially discriminating in its admissions process.

One of the school’s concerns about the proposal, it said, was that the promised preferential treatment on federal grants undermines the “fundamental” purpose of “awarding research funding on the merits of the research being proposed.” Brown said it intends to “compete fairly for new research grants in the future.”

The proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education also called on universities to cap international undergraduate enrollment at 15%, require students to present standardized test scores for admission, tackle grade inflation, commit to institutional neutrality, and shut down departments that “purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

None of the other universities offered the deal have made public statements about their decision yet, but schools will not be punished if they reject the proposal. California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened all of his state’s universities with the loss of state funds if they take the deal.

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