Brown University has rebuffed the latest overture from the Trump administration to accept new conditions for federal funding outlined as a Compact for Excellence in Higher Education.
“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,” wrote Brown President Christina H. Paxson in a letter to federal officials.
The compact, proposed Oct. 1, offers Brown certain “funding advantages” in exchange for some major concessions. Among them, Brown would agree to freeze tuition for five years, cap international undergraduate enrollment at 15%, stop grade inflation, make SATs mandatory, and ban using race as a consideration in admissions and hiring — or risk losing federal funding.
The administration also demanded strict prohibitions against anything on campus that would “punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”
Brown was one of nine universities to receive the compact. The request also went out to Dartmouth, the University of Arizona, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt and MIT.
MIT was the first university to reject the proposal.
President Sally Kornbluth told the White House that MIT’s commitment to merit, affordability, and protecting free speech already “meet or exceed many standards of the document you sent.”
“In our view, America’s leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence,” Kornbluth wrote. “In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences.”
Brown president Paxson’s letter reiterated some of the same points and politely reminded the White House that on July 30, Brown already signed a separate agreement with the Trump administration.
The ACLU of Rhode Island applauded Paxson’s decision to reject the new demands.
“Saying ‘no’ to the federal government’s attempts to control higher education, especially after agreeing to the administration’s demands once, is of critical importance for education across the country,” said R.I. ACLU president Steven Brown in a statement.
The White House has yet to respond to Brown’s statement specifically. But, according to The New York Times, a spokesperson said President Trump remains “committed to restoring academic excellence and common sense at our higher education institutions” and that “any university that joins this historic effort will help to positively shape America’s future.”
