PROVIDENCE – Brown University on Wednesday reached a voluntary agreement with the federal government to restore more than $50 million in research funding for federally sponsored medical and health sciences research within 30 days, to resolve three open reviews concerning
alleged violations of the federal 1964 Civil Rights Act’s Title VI.
Additionally, the Ivy league institution will pay $50 million in grants over the next decade to workforce-development organizations within Rhode Island. The agreement reached between Brown and the federal government now closes the three open reviews and investigations into the university, deeming it in compliance with federal law “with no finding of wrongdoing.”
Since January, Brown has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration over alleged antisemitism occurring on campus since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack and capture of Israeli citizens. Since Oct. 7, 2023, tensions rose on the Brown campus regarding the ongoing conflict. The matter stirred various controversies on the Ivy League grounds last spring, including students being
arrested in protests – with those charges since being
dropped. Brown also has since implemented
various measures to combat discrimination on campus.
In June, Providence Business News reported that Brown at that time
had lost $45 million in National Institutes of Health funding since April 3 due to significant federal research funding decreases, according to a letter to the campus community from the Ivy league institution’s leadership. That amount had been increasing by approximately $3.5 million per week, Brown says, along with the “outright termination” of eight federal contracts and more than 30 federal grants.
Throughout, Brown President Christina H. Paxson informed the community that Brown is committed to following the law, as well as being willing to understand “any valid concerns” the government may have about how the university is fulfilling those obligations.
“By voluntarily entering this agreement, we meet those dual obligations,” Paxson said in a letter to the community. “We stand solidly behind commitments we repeatedly have affirmed to protect all members of our community from harassment and discrimination, [and] we protect the ability of our faculty and students to study and learn academic subjects of their choosing.”
The agreement also codifies Brown’s committing to initiatives and programs ensuring “a thriving Jewish community” and launching a third-party campus survey. It also includes complying with Title IX, including “male” and “female” designations for athletics and on-campus housing per NCAA requirements, Brown says, as well as provisions on gender-affirming care for minors.
Regarding the $50 million distribution by Brown, Paxson says the university will choose which organizations to distribute funds to. The agreement does not include payments to the federal government, she says.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
