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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.”
Paxson’s Tuesday remarks provide the first insight into her mindset since news broke of plans to freeze $510 million of Brown’s federal funding while the Trump administration reviews the University’s response to antisemitism and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on campus.
Some faculty at Brown were granted anonymity to discuss the contents of a meeting only open to faculty members.
Over 290 people attended the town hall, which was led by a panel of senior administrators. University officials emphasized their dedication to supporting academic freedom and abiding by the law. But 10 attendees said the administrators were vague when discussing whether or not Brown would comply with potential federal demands.
As of Tuesday evening, Brown has not received official communication from the White House regarding the freeze, according to University Spokesperson Brian Clark. A White House official first confirmed the planned freeze to The Herald five days ago.
At the meeting, faculty members debated whether the University should take a more public stance on the Trump administration’s actions, several attendees noted.
Administrators also expressed support for international community members, faculty interviewed by The Herald said. While several audience members urged international faculty to secure legal representation before traveling abroad, attendees said the University was less specific in its guidance.
The faculty in attendance told The Herald that the University will be hosting a webinar with guidance for international community members in the coming weeks.
Several attendees reported that senior administrators also emphasized the importance of continuing research and rebuilding public trust in science.
Over 600 faculty and alums signed an open letter to senior Brown administrators and the Corporation — Brown’s highest governing body — calling on the University to protect academic freedom and “mobilize its endowment” in the face of the funding threat.
In the petition, which was obtained by The Herald, signatories wrote they “fully support” Paxson’s recent statements on upholding academic freedom and University values in light of the Trump administration’s recent actions.
The faculty and alums said they “will stand together with our administration in defending these values in the face of intimidation and attack.” Quoting Brown’s founding charter, the signatories said they remain committed to enjoying “full, free, absolute and uninterrupted liberty of conscience.”
The purpose of the petition “was to try and get as many Brown employees, students and alumni to support President Paxson in standing up against federal government attacks,” Brian Lander, an associate professor of history and one of the petition’s leaders, wrote in an email to The Herald.
“We also wanted to emphasize that ‘emergency measures taken in times of crisis tend to become permanent’ so that the administration thinks long-term about any changes it makes,” he added, quoting the petition.
While the open letter was not directly addressed at the faculty town hall, “the administration seems to be maintaining the kind of policy that the petition advocates for,” Lander wrote.
Last Thursday, a group of students created a petition in solidarity with Brown “against the Trump administration’s unprecedented and politically motivated attacks on institutions of higher education in the United States.”
John Bellaire ’25 and Julian Cronin ’25 were two of the students involved in crafting the petition. In an interview with the Herald, Cronin said he hopes the statement will show that the University community will support Brown’s leadership and stand with Paxson’s administration.
The petition has received 113 signatures from students, alumni and community members as of Tuesday night. Cronin said they plan to send the petition to Paxson after they garner more signatures.
If wealthy and prestigious institutions concede to the Trump administration, it has ripple effects on universities and researchers across the country, Bellaire said in an interview with the Herald. “Institutions like Brown have more of a responsibility to stand up because of the privilege that we have.”
Ifadayo Engel-Halfkenny ’27 signed Cronin and Bellaire’s petition, as well as another petition titled “BROWN: DO NOT COMPLY.”
Engel-Halfkenny said he was motivated to sign the two petitions because “what’s happening to immigrants and noncitizen college students in general across the country and college students in general is exactly what forced my great grandmother to go into hiding in the Netherlands in 1942.” He said there is a general feeling of fear among his friends on campus about the potential impact of federal actions at Brown.
“There needs to be something more than just an empty promise” from Brown’s administration, Engel-Halfkenny said. While Cronin and Bellaire expressed confidence in Paxson, Engel-Halfkenny said he couldn’t be “hands off” and trust that Brown’s administration will stand up to the White House.
“It’s important for us to come together as students who are committed to this place to show that we won’t let (the administration) capitulate in the same way that other universities have,” Engel-Halfkenny added.
Cronin noted the importance of complying with the law, but he distinguished this from complying with “coercive attacks” from the federal government, which he believes could set a negative precedent moving forward. “If you let them take one dollar today, they are going to come back and take two tomorrow and three the next day.”
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.
Ciara Meyer is a section editor from Saratoga Springs, New York. She plans on concentrating in Statistics and English Nonfiction. In her free time, she loves scrapbooking and building lego flowers.
