The Trump administration reached an agreement with Brown University to resume federal funding

The Trump administration reached an agreement with Brown University to resume federal funding in exchange for certain concessions. Thanks to the understanding, the Department of Education will restore millions of dollars in research grants and eligibility to compete for new federal grants and contracts. At least $510 million was at risk for the Rhode Island-based educational institution.

The funding had been temporarily halted because of a series of investigations related to the treatment of Jewish students on campus and the use of affirmative action in admissions.

Among the concessions the university committed to were a $50 million payment over ten years to workforce development organizations in the state, a ban on transgender athletes competing in women's sports and using their locker rooms, and merit-based admissions policies.

"The University will define 'male' and 'female,' for the purpose of all practices, policies, and procedures adopted and implemented by the University for any athletic opportunity, event, competition, category, program, or activity designated for women, consistent with the definitions adopted in Executive Order 14168, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government (Jan. 20, 2025), and Executive Order 14201, Keeping Men out of Women's Sports (Feb. 5, 2025)," reads one of the clauses in the agreement.

Christina Paxson, president of the university, said of the agreement with the White House, "The government will end the large-scale freeze that ultimately had implications for hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding to Brown. Our researchers will again be fully eligible for federal funding moving forward, and the government will reimburse the University — and ensure ongoing funding flows — for the existing active grants within 30 days."

"The University’s foremost priority throughout discussions with the government was remaining true to our academic mission, our core values and who we are as a community at Brown," she added, stressing that the institution will maintain its "academic independence."

Unlike the agreement announced with Columbia University, this one does not include payments or fines to the federal government. In the face of uncertainty over funding, the university recently obtained two loans, one for $300 million and another for $500 million.