Brown University has rejected the Trump administration’s proposed settlement that would have required the university to change its campus policies in exchange for benefits in receiving federal funding.
on wednesday Letter Brown President Christina Paxson told Education Secretary Linda McMahon and White House aides May Mailman and Vincent Haley that she was “concerned” that agreeing to the settlement would “restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance.”
Paxson says that although it is willing to cooperate with the federal government and is “committed to contributing to the national conversation about principles for reforming American higher education,” the compact does not recognize “the government’s lack of authority to dictate the content of our curriculum or academic discourse.”
The Hill has contacted the White House and the Education Department for comment.
Administration on 1 October Sent The 10-part proposal, titled “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”, called for nine schools: Brown, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Arizona, and University of Virginia.
The memo outlines a number of policy changes to be made by schools, including freezing tuition for five years, banning transgender women from women’s locker rooms and athletic teams, “fostering a vibrant marketplace of ideas,” expanding opportunities for service members and limiting the percentage of the student body from foreign countries to 15 percent.
In return, the schools would receive preferential treatment in receiving federal research funding.
MIT became the first university to do so publicly refuse Compact last week. bloomberg informed On Monday, the administration is inviting all American colleges to agree to the agreement.
In July, Brown and the administration reached an agreement To end three anti-discrimination investigations into the university and restore $500 million in federal research funding.
The agreement called for Brown to pay $50 million over 10 years to workforce development organizations in Rhode Island, segregate men’s and women’s sports facilities by gender, prevent its health system from prescribing puberty blockers or perform gender reassignment surgeries on minors, and use “merit-based admissions policies.”
Paxson said, referencing the July deal, Brown “stressed our commitment to equality of opportunity in admissions and hiring while maintaining a respectful community free from harassment and discrimination.”
Brown Rise Up, a student-led group that advocated against the university agreeing to the settlement, called Paxson’s letter “a huge victory” but said the administration’s “attack on higher education and Brown is far from over.” instagram story,
The group said, “We need your support, students, teachers, alumni and the community more than ever, to fight against Trump’s encroachment on our schools. Brown Rose Up.”
