Trump administration and Brown University reach terms to reinstate forfeited federal grants
Brown University has reached a settlement with the Trump administration, restoring frozen federal funding in exchange for commitments on admissions, gender definitions in athletics, and handling discrimination investigations.
Under the agreement, Brown University will remove any consideration of race from the admissions process. The settlement bars the university from giving preference to applicants because of their race and stops it from using any "proxy for racial admission," including personal statements or "diversity narratives."
The university will also disclose a wealth of data on students who apply to and are admitted to the university, including information about their race, grades, and standardized test scores. This data will be subject to a "comprehensive audit" by the government.
Brown University has agreed to hire an outside organization to conduct a campus survey on the climate for Jewish students. The university will also end investigations into alleged discrimination.
In addition to the admissions policy changes, Brown University will adopt the government's definition of "male" and "female." Female athletic facilities will be strictly sex-segregated, defining male and female by biological sex consistent with Trump administration executive orders.
The university denies liability and retains academic freedom and curricular control. The $50 million in payments to local workforce development organizations agreed to by Brown will be paid over 10 years.
The settlement appears to go further than previous agreements, such as the one between Columbia University and the government, which required a $200 million payment. In another agreement, the University of Pennsylvania pledged to modify school records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, but the deal included no fine.
Brown University will also restore lost federal research funding and dozens of suspended grants and contracts. The government cannot dictate curriculum or the content of academic speech at Brown.
In negotiations with Harvard, the Trump administration has been pressing for the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school to pay far more. The details of those negotiations are still uncertain.
[1] Source: Brown University press release [2] Source: U.S. Department of Education press release [3] Source: New York Times article [4] Source: Washington Post article
In light of the settlement, Brown University has agreed to adopt the government's definition of 'male' and 'female', ensuring female athletic facilities will be sex-segregated based on biological sex, according to US Department of Education press release [2]. Concurrently, the university will report extensive data on applicant demographics, grades, and standardized test scores to the government for a comprehensive audit, as stated in the New York Times article [3].
