Follow along as The Herald covers how President Trump’s new administration is impacting Brown University.
- The Trump administration plans to announce a freeze on $510 million worth of federal funding, a White House official told The Herald.
- The University is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights.
- Congressional Republicans have demanded a slew of documents from Brown and other Ivies over what it says are tuition and financial aid practices that may violate federal antitrust laws.
- At least one Brown student and several recent graduates have had their visas revoked. The reason remains unknown.
- Associate Professor of Medicine Rasha Alawieh was deported over her alleged attendance at a funeral for a Hezbollah leader. She was in possession of a valid H-1B visa.
- At least $8 million in research funding has been canceled, resulting in staff layoffs and leaving some participants without treatment.
By Elise Haulund
April 14, 1:07 p.m.
Brown, eight other universities, the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities filed a lawsuit Monday in an attempt to stop funding cuts by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The planned cut, which would affect administrative “indirect costs,” would result in an over $2 million annual loss for Brown, according to a court filing. The plaintiffs described the actions as “flagrantly unlawful” and said that the cuts “devastate scientific research.”
Whether you’re a researcher, a student, an alum or an administrator, The Herald wants to hear from you. Submit confidential tips or story ideas using this form.
By Annika Singh and Alejandro Ruiz
April 13, 9:43 p.m.
Just weeks ahead of the May 1 deadline by which admitted applicants must decide whether they will spend the next four years on College Hill, many prospective students are processing how the Trump administration’s $510 million federal funding freeze to the University may impact their time at Brown.
During A Day on College Hill, the University’s twice-annual admitted students day, The Herald spoke to nearly two dozen admitted students about their initial reactions to the federal funding freeze and whether it affects their college decision-making process.
By Elise Haulund and Sophia Wotman
April 10, 9:31 p.m.
The University is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights regarding Brown’s compliance with Title VI, according to a Thursday night email from Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 and Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Matthew Guterl.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of protected classes, including race, color and national origin.
By Sophia Wotman and Aniyah Nelson
April 10, 2:12 p.m.
House and Senate Republicans believe that the Ivy League’s tuition and financial aid practices may violate federal antitrust laws, according to a letter sent to Brown on Tuesday and publicly released on Thursday requesting a slew of documents related to each school’s financial aid and pricing practices to be received within the next two weeks. Similar letters were sent to the other seven Ivy League colleges.
When asked by The Herald, University Spokesperson Brian Clark did not specify whether the University would produce the documents requested by the letter.
By Sophia Wotman and Aniyah Nelson
April 10, 12:15 p.m.
At least one Brown student and a “small number” of recent graduates have had their visas revoked over the past week, according to a Thursday email from the Office of International Student and Scholar Services. This comes amid the Trump administration’s recent targeting of international students for pro-Palestine activism.
Following a similar pattern at other schools, the University did not receive notification from the relevant federal agencies about the revocations, adding that they had “no official information to provide” about the reasoning behind the visa cancellations.
By Elise Haulund and Claire Song
April 10, 12:17 p.m.
At least nine grants awarded to Brown researchers, totaling over $8 million, have been terminated since Trump took office, freezing studies in their tracks and leaving some participants without treatment. Affected researchers told The Herald they had to lay off some staff from their studies, marking the first reports of layoffs from projects due to recent federal funding cuts.
These grants, the most recent of which was terminated Monday, funded research related to a variety of issues, ranging from youth HIV prevention to COVID-19 testing for incarcerated people. Across these awards, over $3.5 million in funding had yet to be disbursed.
By Cate Latimer and Ciara Meyer
April 9, 12:04 a.m.
Amid calls from hundreds of faculty, students and alums to resist any demands from the Trump administration, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 described Columbia’s decision to comply with White House requirements to restore funding as ineffective, according to three faculty members present at a Tuesday faculty-only town hall.
After Columbia conceded to the Trump administration’s requests following threats of a $400 million funding cut — which sparked wide backlash over academic freedom on Columbia’s campus — Paxson said that if Brown faced similar threats, “we would be compelled to vigorously exercise our legal rights to defend these freedoms.”
By Annika Singh, Ian Ritter and Sophia Wotman
April 7, 11:47 p.m.
Last Thursday evening, students across campus learned that the Trump administration plans to halt $510 million of federal funding to the University over alleged antisemitism on campus and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The planned funding freeze was confirmed by a White House official in an email to The Herald. As of around 5 p.m. Monday, the University had not yet received communication from the White House regarding the funding freeze, according to University Spokesperson Brian Clark.
By Cate Latimer
April 4, 12:59 p.m.
A White House official confirmed to The Herald that the Trump administration’s planned $510 million freeze in Brown’s federal funding will come as it reviews the University's response to antisemitism and its potential diversity, equity and inclusion policies. This is the first confirmation The Herald has received regarding the reason for the freeze.
Last month, Brown and 59 other universities received letters from the Department of Education threatening “enforcement actions” if they fail to “protect Jewish students on campus,” according to the message. The letters were sent to universities under investigation or monitoring over alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Title VI prohibits federally funded institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, color and national origin.
By Elena Jiang
April 4, 1:17 a.m.
The University has launched a preliminary review of Alex Shieh ’27 for student conduct violations following his publication of Bloat@Brown. The online database, which aimed to evaluate the necessity of administrators’ jobs, “appeared to improperly use data accessed through a University technology platform,” wrote University Spokesperson Brian Clark in an email to The Herald.
Bloat@Brown is modeled after the Trump administration’s Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency and purports to highlight administrative waste within the University.
By Claire Song and Cate Latimer
April 3, 9:33 p.m.
In a Thursday statement sent to The Herald, members of the Brown Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — and leadership of Brown-RISD Hillel said that Brown has upheld its commitment to religious freedom and Jewish life on campus.
The statement, which was signed by Brown’s Chancellor and Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan ’81 P’14 P’19 and former Chancellor and current trustee Samuel Mencoff ’78, among others, comes amid a planned $510 million freeze on federal funds to Brown. Rabbi Josh Bolton, the executive director of Brown-RISD Hillel, also signed onto the statement.
By Herald Staff
April 3, 6:22 p.m.
The Trump administration plans to halt $510 million of federal funding to Brown over alleged antisemitism on campus and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, a White House official told The Herald.
University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote “we have no information to substantiate what's being reported.”
By Cate Latimer
April 2, 2:12 a.m.
On Tuesday, Brown Corporation member Xochitl Gonzalez ’99 published an article in The Atlantic defending students’ right to protest. She argued that students receiving green cards or visas have the right to speak freely and become social activists without threat of revocation.
Gonzalez, who is currently a staff writer at The Atlantic, has been a Brown Corporation trustee since 2022.
By Cate Latimer
March 31, 12:21 p.m.
In response to concerns about recent federal actions, University administrators clarified how Brown is approaching federal immigration enforcement, recent federal funding cuts, threats to diversity and inclusion, gender-affirming care and retention of protest security footage.
In a community-wide letter sent early Monday morning, Provost Francis Doyle and Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 wrote that the guidance complies with the law while supporting “the safety and well-being of our community within the bounds of an evolving legal and policy landscape.”
By Roma Shah
March 20, 2:09 p.m.
In a Thursday morning letter, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 laid out the principles that would guide the University’s response should the Trump administration threaten Brown’s academic mission. Paxson’s three principles included defending freedom of expression, providing resources to international community members and following the law.
The announcement came amid concerns over possible cuts in federal funding at Brown and peer institutions. Earlier this month, federal agencies announced the cancellation of $400 million of funding at Columbia due to its alleged inaction in protecting Jewish students against harassment. Penn has also faced a $175 million funding freeze over its policies surrounding transgender athletes.
By Claire Song and Cate Latimer
March 18, 12:08 a.m.
Assistant Professor of Medicine Rasha Alawieh was deported to Lebanon on Friday despite a federal judge’s order and holding a valid H-1B visa — a decision made after Alawieh “openly admitted” to traveling to Beirut for the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Here is what The Herald knows about her.
By Cate Latimer
March 16, 8:56 p.m.
After being held by customs officials at Boston Logan International Airport Thursday, Assistant Professor of Medicine Rasha Alawieh has been deported and is now in Lebanon, according to her relative Yara Chehab and court filings reviewed by The Herald.
The deportation took place despite a Friday order from U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin requiring 48 hours’ notice of Alawieh’s removal from Massachusetts.
By Cate Latimer
March 16, 4:35 p.m.
One week before spring break, Brown advised international community members, including visa holders and permanent residents, to postpone international travel in a campus-wide email sent on Sunday.
“Potential changes in travel restrictions and travel bans, visa procedures and processing, re-entry requirements and other travel-related delays may affect travelers’ ability to return to the U.S. as planned,” Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey wrote in the email.
By Ethan Schenker
March 13, 1:42 a.m.
Early Thursday morning, Brown announced it would be implementing a temporary, staff-wide hiring freeze in response to the “uncertainty we now face from federal actions.” In a letter to community members, Provost Francis Doyle and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Sarah Latham wrote that the freeze will begin immediately and remain in effect through the end of the 2025 fiscal year for positions “with any component of unrestricted funds.”
These comprise 90% of all staff positions, University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald.
By Cate Latimer
March 10, 6:23 p.m.
Brown and 59 other universities could face “enforcement actions” if they fail to “protect Jewish students on campus,” according to a letter sent to the universities Monday. The letter was sent to all United States universities that “are under investigation or monitoring in response to complaints filed” with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights about alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Title VI prohibits federally funded institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, color and national origin, including Jewish ancestry.
By Annika Singh and Sophia Wotman
March 9, 11:03 p.m.
On Friday afternoon, approximately 50 students gathered on the Main Green to protest the Trump administration’s recent actions targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programming and the Department of Education. The rally was organized by activist organization Students for Educational Equity and endorsed by the Undergraduate Council of Students.
“If they try to get rid of DEI programming, if they try to get rid of safe spaces for students, students will fight back,” SEE Co-President Nick Lee ’26 said in an interview with The Herald.
By Cate Latimer and Samah Hamid
March 5, 10:12 p.m.
On Wednesday, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 reiterated her commitment to the University’s mission and academic freedom while warning of potential staff layoffs and financial steps that could be taken as the federal political landscape continues to change.
Her statement came as part of the University’s ongoing response to federal actions that threaten research funding, the taxation of the University’s endowment and international student visa status.
By Cate Latimer and Sophia Wotman
February 19, 9:54 p.m.
The Department of Education released a letter last Friday threatening to cut federal funding to schools that do not eliminate “illegal” race-conscious programs — including diversity, equity and inclusion — in the next two weeks.
The move has sparked concern in higher education, including at Brown, but its direct consequences on College Hill remain uncertain.
By Cate Latimer
February 10, 9:54 p.m.
Brown filed a lawsuit Monday against the National Institutes of Health in an attempt to stop a cut to their federal research funding, arguing that it violates federal separation of powers and strips research institutions of congressionally appropriated funding.
The suit is led by the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, encompassing dozens of higher education institutions. Brown, along with 12 other universities, also signed on to the suit.
By Claire Song
February 5, 11:19 p.m.
On Feb. 3, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights notified the University that they will be investigating the Warren Alpert Medical School for alleged antisemitic incidents that occurred during its May 2024 commencement ceremony.
University Spokesperson Brian Clark said Brown is confident that their “actions in response to a protest on an adjacent public street” during the ceremony were in compliance with appropriate federal laws protecting students from discrimination.
Staff from The Brown Daily Herald
