April 4 (UPI) — The Trump administration may suspend $510 million in federal grants to Brown University.
The White House confirmed Thursday it plans to freeze Brown’s funding, although the university says it hasn’t been made aware of this action by the government, The Daily Caller, CNN and CBS News reported.
“At this moment, we have no information to substantiate any of these rumors,” Brown’s provost Frank Doyle wrote Thursday, CBS News reported. “We are closely monitoring notifications related to grants, but have nothing more we can share as of now.”
Brown is among several schools under investigation by the Department of Education for alleged violations “relating to anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination.”
The Trump administration had already put its focus on Brown’s staff when it deported a faculty member in March who the Justice Department alleged had “sympathetic photos and videos” of prominent Hezbollah figures in the deleted items folder of her cell phone.
The university also announced in March that it had instituted a temporary staff hiring freeze” due in part to “potential significant impacts of federal government actions.”
Members of the Brown Corporation, the university’s highest governing body, and the leadership of Brown-RISD Hillel issued a press release to the Brown Daily Herald Thursday amid the increased scrutiny of the university.
“Amidst broader concerns about anti-Semitism on college campuses, Brown stands out as an inclusive environment where Jewish life is deeply integrated into campus culture,” it said.
