The Trump administration is set to suspend over $500 million in federal funding to Brown University over concerns about antisemitism, joining other Ivy League institutions targeted by the administration.
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| The Trump administration’s decision to suspend over $500 million in funding to Brown University highlights its ongoing crackdown on antisemitism at U.S. campuses. Image: BU |
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, USA — April 4, 2025:
The Trump administration is moving to suspend over $500 million in federal contracts and grants awarded to Brown University, adding to the mounting pressure on Ivy League schools over how they handle antisemitism. This action expands the list of prestigious universities facing funding threats for their handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations and related incidents on campus, reads a KTUL post.
An anonymous White House official confirmed the development on Thursday, noting that approximately $510 million in federal research and project funds are at risk. This follows a series of similar moves against other Ivy League schools. Brown would become the fifth institution under scrutiny, joining the likes of Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, and Princeton, which have already faced funding suspensions or investigations.
In an email to campus leadership, Brown’s Provost Frank Doyle acknowledged “concerning rumours” about the potential suspension of funding. However, he emphasized that no official confirmation had been made as of Thursday. The university remains under close observation as part of a broader federal inquiry into antisemitism on U.S. college campuses.
The Trump administration’s strategy involves leveraging federal funding to enforce its policies regarding antisemitism on campuses, which gained traction following a series of pro-Palestinian protests that swept across universities last year. Critics of the administration argue that this approach could have significant consequences for academic freedom, especially considering the reliance of universities on federal research support as a primary income source.
Brown University is the latest target in this broader effort, joining the ranks of universities like Columbia, which lost $400 million in federal funding, and the University of Pennsylvania, which faced a suspension of $175 million over a transgender swimmer controversy. Similarly, Harvard University is under investigation for over $9 billion in grants and contracts related to allegations of antisemitism.
The pressure has forced several universities to comply with federal demands. Columbia University, for instance, agreed to revise its student disciplinary procedures and review its Middle East studies department in order to retain some federal support. However, Brown has so far resisted similar concessions, most notably in its decision last year to reject a student-led divestment request related to Israel.
The growing scrutiny of U.S. colleges comes as the Trump administration has adopted a more forceful stance on antisemitism, accusing the Biden administration of being too lenient on the issue. This includes a broad investigation into antisemitic activity on college campuses, the detention or deportation of foreign students linked to pro-Palestinian protests, and recent moves to curtail funding for universities seen as insufficiently responsive to government concerns.
For Brown University, this federal funding challenge represents a significant blow to its research programs, as it could be forced to find alternative sources of support or face the potential scaling back of its academic initiatives. As the Trump administration continues its crackdown on antisemitism in U.S. higher education, the situation at Brown exemplifies the complex intersection of politics, federal funding, and campus freedoms.