A 3rd Ivy League School Makes a Deal With Trump

Brown University has become the third Ivy League school to settle with the Trump administration over accusations the school has fostered antisemitism. Under the terms, the university in Rhode Island will make $50 million in payments to state workforce development programs over a decade, the New York Times reports. Brown agreed to follow Trump's policies on "merit-based" admissions policies and to not provide gender-reassignment surgery or treatments to minors. To ensure it is adhering to federal law, Brown will turn over data to the government on its admissions and diversity efforts, per the Washington Post.

In turn, the government promised to restore $50 million in research grants that it had chosen not to pay and pledged not to use the deal "to dictate Brown's curriculum or the content of academic speech." An independent monitor will not be appointed to oversee implementation. Brown had not sued after the administration announced in April that it would block $510 million in funding but has said it has borrowed money to replace the federal grants. Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania also reached settlements. White House officials are negotiating with other universities and have said they want the Columbia deal to be a blueprint for making them pay millions.

The Trump administration celebrated the Brown deal. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that it will be part of the "lasting legacy of the Trump administration, one that will benefit students and American society for generations to come." A couple of educators found parts of the deal acceptable. "This feels like mostly things that Brown had to do anyway, and had already said it was going to do," said an environmental studies professor. The president of the American Council on Education was pleased that the money isn't going to the federal government. "We really look forward to engaging with this administration on matters of policy," Ted Mitchell said. "But this isn't policy. This is simple extortion and deal-making, which has no place in a democracy."