In a first step toward fulfilling a settlement with the Trump administration over alleged anti-semitism on its campus, Brown University has started making payments to local workforce development training.
The Ivy League school has announced a grant of $1.5 million to the Community College of Rhode Island, and an equal amount to Building Futures, a nonprofit apprenticeship program.
“These investments will provide important funding for key workforce initiatives by helping to maximize their impact and empower more residents to build stable, meaningful careers that strengthen the state’s economic growth,” Brown University President Christina H. Paxson said in a statement.
Brown reached an agreement with the Trump administration last summer to restore millions of dollars in federal research funding and to end federal investigations into the institution. In exchange, the university agreed to pay $50 million to organizations in Rhode Island focused on workforce training over the next 10 years.
Several other universities reached similar deals with the administration to restore federal funding, though the details of what the schools would pay vary greatly. For example, Columbia University agreed to pay the federal government $200 million over three years and $21 million to settle an inquiry into harassment related to the university’s Jewish employees.
Cornell University will pay a total of $60 million over three years: $30 million to the government and $30 million for “research to strengthen U.S. agriculture.”
Details of Brown’s payments
According to a statement from Brown, the new grants will support programs designed to train students for in-demand jobs in education and construction. At CCRI, the $1.5 million grant will fund a new certificate program in bilingual early childhood education, with an established pipeline to the Providence public school district. The money will go to scholarships and student support, including bilingual tutoring, mentorship, transportation and meals.
Rosemary Costigan, the president of Community College of Rhode Island, said she hopes the money will “have statewide impact.”
The grant for Building Futures will fund an apprenticeship readiness program in the building trades for people who are incarcerated in the state.
In addition to the $3 million announced Thursday, Brown will also begin to accept applications from other state organizations interested in receiving future funding.
