Brown University has officially reversed course on its diversity, equity and inclusion policies as part of a newly announced $50 million agreement with the Trump administration. The deal unlocks millions in frozen federal research grants after Brown agreed to implement major changes in gender policy, admissions practices, and oversight related to antisemitism.
The Rhode Island-based Ivy League school becomes the third elite university to strike such a deal after months of political pressure and funding freezes targeting so-called “woke” campus policies.
Under the terms of the three-year agreement, Brown will:
• Stop promoting “unlawful DEI goals”
• Provide gender-specific locker rooms based strictly on biological sex
• Prohibit gender-affirming care for minors on campus
• Eliminate racial preferences in admissions
• Launch a new antisemitism survey and hand over discrimination complaint data to the federal government
The university also pledged to invest $50 million over the next decade into local workforce development programs. In return, the Department of Education will unfreeze over $50 million in NIH and HHS grants and close ongoing federal discrimination investigations.
Brown did not admit wrongdoing in the deal but acknowledged it was under significant financial strain due to the frozen grants, which were costing the school millions each week. President Christina Paxson said the deal was a way to “move forward” without compromising the school’s academic mission, though critics say it represents a major federal overreach.
Donald Trump quickly took a victory lap online, posting a celebratory message on Truth Social declaring the death of DEI at Brown:
“Congratulations to Brown University on the settlement made with the United States Government. There will be no more Anti-Semitism, or Anti-Christian, or Anti-Anything Else! Woke is officially DEAD at Brown. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump has made dismantling DEI policies and enforcing strict gender definitions a central theme of his education agenda. His administration has pushed similar settlements on Columbia and Penn, and officials suggest more schools are under review.
With this latest agreement, it’s clear the Trump administration is not just pulling levers of policy—but rewriting the rules of higher education.
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