Brown University could become fifth university to lose federal funding
The Trump administration is reportedly targeting a $510m cut in federal contracts and grants to Brown University for alleged "antisemitism" on campus and reviewing their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies while it aggressively expands its campaign to hold US universities accountable, according to reports.
The Daily Caller was the first to report on the freeze on Thursday, with CNN saying that it also heard the news from a White House official.
While University officials said they had not been formally notified, the school was among dozens warned in March that enforcement actions could be coming as the administration seeks to crack down on academic institutions.
Rhode Island's Brown University has an endowment that was valued at $7.2 billion last summer.
Brown provost Francis J Doyle III sent a message to stakeholders across campus on Friday, saying they were aware of "troubling rumors" emerging about federal funding cuts to research grants.
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"We will not repeat these various rumors, including unsubstantiated reports by online outlets, but it is important to share that, at this moment, we have no information to substantiate any of these rumors. In your respective roles as chairs and faculty directors, please share this information with your concerned faculty. We are closely monitoring notifications related to grants, but have nothing more we can share as of now," the provost said, according to a statement shared with Middle East Eye.
Similar to dozens of other universities, students at the Ivy League school protested against Israel’s war on Gaza, setting up an encampment on the grassy quad at the heart of Brown's campus. But, unlike at many other universities, Brown administrators chose to negotiate rather than clear the demonstrations forcefully.
It has become the fifth known and latest Ivy League university to potentially face a loss of their federal funding. In March this year, Columbia University became the first university to lose some federal funding when the Trump administration slashed $400m in federal funds.
In a press statement at the time, the agencies involved in reviewing the university said the funding cuts were due to “the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students”.
"Since October 7 [2023], Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses - only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in the press release.
The statement warned that the cancellations represent the first round of action and additional cancellations are expected to follow. Columbia University currently holds more than $5bn in federal grant commitments. The amount announced in March is almost eight times more than the amount the federal task force on antisemitism announced it was considering halting earlier.
Domino effect
On 1 April, the Trump administration suspended several dozen research grants totaling $210m to Princeton University as part of an ongoing investigation into antisemitism on campus, according to the White House and the Department of Energy.
Princeton president Christopher Eisgruber said in a message on 1 April to the university community that “The full rationale for this action is not yet clear.”
Meanwhile, on 31 March, the government told Harvard University it would review nearly $9bn in multi-year grant commitments to the university as part of an investigation over "antisemitism". The review will include more than $255.6m in current contracts and $8.7bn in grants spread over multiple years.
Harvard University has also been given a set conditions that it must meet - including a mask ban and removal of diversity, equity and inclusion programmes - to receive federal money.
The review is being conducted by the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the US General Services Administration.
McMahon said in a statement that while Harvard has “served as a symbol of the American Dream for generations”, it had failed “to protect students from anti-Semitic discrimination” and had promoted “divisive ideologies over free inquiry”.
The Trump administration's cancellation of $400m in federal funding to Columbia University demanded in exchange that Columbia change its disciplinary policies and place its Middle Eastern, African, and South Asian studies programmes under administrative control.
Columbia University caved to many of the Trump administration's demands, but the exchange resulted in national backlash and the abrupt departure of the university’s interim president, Linda Armstrong, last week.
The University of Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump's alma mater, was hit with $175m in cuts over policies allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports.
In an announcement on 10 March, the Department of Education published a list of 60 universities that are “presently under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination”.
Human rights advocates and academic experts have condemned the moves as an assault on freedom of speech and academic freedom.
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