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The Trump administration is planning to freeze $510 million in grants and contracts to Brown University to review the college’s response to antisemitism and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The news was shared with multiple outlets on Thursday, with Brown Provost Frank Doyle referencing the matter but revealing little detail concerning the financial matter.
“At this moment, we have no information to substantiate any of these rumors,” Doyle said in a Thursday email to campus leaders, ABC News reported.
In February, Trump’s Education Department issued a warning to 60 institutions—including Brown University—stating it would take action if they failed to meet their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus. Brown is already under “ongoing monitoring” due to a prior federal civil rights investigation and a resulting agreement with the Department of Education.
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in her February letter.
“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws,” she continued.
The news comes two days after the Trump administration paused grants at Princeton University as part of a growing move to investigate antisemitism on college campuses. Columbia University was the first college to face scrutiny, threatened with the loss of $400 million in federal funding if it did not make changes to increase safety for Jewish students.
The Trump administration also recently launched a review of federal funding to Harvard University, citing concerns that the school has not adequately protected Jewish students from antisemitism. The announcement stated that the review covers compliance with civil rights regulations and is being led by President Trump’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, along with the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration.
The investigation focuses on $255.6 million in federal contracts and $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments to Harvard and its affiliated institutions in the largest amount investigated by the task force to date.