After MIT, Brown University Rejects Trumps College Compact Invite

Brown University declined the White House's invitation to sign an agreement that would grant preferential funding in exchange for a slew of policy changes, like DEI bans and limits on international students. The Ivy League school is the second college to rebuff President Donald Trump's Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology rejected the proposal last week. In a letter to administration officials on Wednesday, Brown President Christina Paxson wrote that she was worried that the compact, "by its nature and by various provisions would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown's governance." Paxson echoed concerns voiced by MIT President Sally Kornbluth last week, when she responded to the Trump administration by saying that the compact undermines merit-based processes for awarding research grants. "President Trump is committed to restoring academic excellence and common sense at our higher education institutions," White House spokesperson Liz Huston wrote in an email. "Any university that joins this historic effort will help to positively shape America's future." The agreement was initially extended to nine colleges on Oct. 1. The other seven colleges - the University of Virginia, the University of Texas Austin, the University of Arizona, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University, and Dartmouth College - haven't publicly said whether they'll sign on. Earlier this week the administration welcomed all colleges and universities to participate. Trump has said that schools which reject the deal will face investigations into compliance with federal laws, but the extent to which federal research grants or student aid eligibility will be predicated on acceptance of the accord remains murky. Brown previously signed a deal with the White House in July to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen research grants in exchange for policy commitments and a $50 million investment in workforce training in Rhode Island. Paxson wrote in the letter that the compact would contradict a promise made by the Trump administration in their July agreement to refrain from exerting influence over curriculum and classroom content. "We remain committed to the July agreement and its preservation of Brown's core values in ways that the Compact - in any form - fundamentally would not," Paxson wrote. A White House official, who asked to remain unnamed to discuss the private discussions, said the administration's July settlement with Brown was intended to rectify past harm and discrimination. The compact, however, is forward-looking and will have an impact on future funding and federal partnerships, the official said, adding other universities have proactively reached out to participate. Brown was under increasing pressure to reject the compact, which only intensified after MIT's response. In her letter to the White House on Wednesday, Paxson said her decision "aligns with the views of the vast majority of Brown stakeholders."