In a Thursday letter to President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20, the House Judiciary Committee requested all documentation and communications related to the University’s investigation into Alex Shieh ’27 after he launched Bloat@Brown, a database aiming to evaluate the necessity of administrators’ jobs.
The request is part of an ongoing congressional probe accusing Ivy League institutions of collectively hiking tuition prices and limiting financial aid packages in violation of U.S. antitrust laws.
University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald that the University has been cooperating with Congress, “demonstrating that we have and continue to make decisions on tuition and financial aid independently as part of our commitment to making sure that no student’s family socioeconomic circumstances prevent them from accessing the benefits of a Brown education.”
Shieh — who testified at a hearing related to the probe earlier this month — was placed under “preliminary review” by the University in March after he sent emails to over 3,800 administrators asking what they had accomplished over the past week.
The University alleged that, in creating Bloat@Brown, Shieh had violated Brown’s Code of Student Conduct by accessing private data and misrepresenting himself as a journalist. After the University held an administrative review meeting in May, Shieh was cleared of all charges later that month.
In the letter sent to Paxson on Thursday, U.S. Representatives Jim Jordan (R-Ohio 4), Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis. 5) and Troy Nehls (R-Texas 22) expressed concern that the University’s investigation into Shieh may have served to “suppress free speech and discourage others from coming forward and asking questions related to Brown’s rising costs.”
“The Committee seeks to understand Brown’s rationale for attempting to silence a student raising questions about how student and taxpayer dollars are being used,” the letter added. They requested that Brown send over any relevant documentation by July 10, including communications “between or among employees of Brown.”
Clark wrote that the University will “continue to provide any responses to follow-up requests directly to the committees.”
Jordan chairs the House Judiciary Committee, while Fitzgerald chairs the subcommittee that organized the hearing at which Shieh testified earlier this month. In his opening statement at the hearing, Jordan said Shieh’s work on Bloat@Brown revealed how universities hike tuition rates while hiring “an unbelievable amount of administrators.”
Clark previously wrote in an email to The Herald that “Brown’s financial aid program is among the most robust in the nation” and “claims that administrative staff growth does not support the academic experience for students misrepresent the reality.”
In his testimony at the hearing, Shieh highlighted how Brown’s investigation had impacted him, claiming that his social security number was leaked. In light of Shieh’s comment, the committee also requested documents related to “the unauthorized disclosure of Mr. Shieh’s personally identifiable information.”
On Thursday, Shieh thanked Jordan in a post on X for “fighting for free speech and administrative accountability at @BrownUniversity!” and called on the committee to subpoena Paxson.
Shieh, Jordan, Fitzgerald and Nehls did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Cate Latimer is a university news editor covering faculty, University Hall and higher education. She is from Portland, OR, and studies English and Urban Studies. In her free time, you can find her playing ultimate frisbee or rewatching episodes of Parks and Rec.
