Brown University President Resigns After Funding Standoff With Trump Admin
The Trump administration is continuing its push to force the country’s institutions of higher education to ditch the left-wing policies of using race and ethnicity as their guiding principle when it comes to internal hiring, promotions, and student admissions.
The administration has particularly focused its effort on the country’s elite Ivy League institutions.
In that vein, Brown University President Christina Paxson announced that she will step down at the end of the academic year, concluding a presidency marked by significant challenges, including a dispute over federal funding and a campus shooting that claimed three lives.
In an open letter published Monday on the university’s website, Paxson said she had originally intended to leave a year earlier but decided to remain in office to help the university navigate what she described as a federal funding freeze that threatened its mission.
The Trump administration had proposed withholding approximately $510 million in federal grants to Brown, making the funding dispute one of the defining issues of the final phase of Paxson’s tenure.
Brown University was among the first higher education institutions targeted during the Trump administration’s broader disputes with several elite universities over issues including antisemitism on campus, DEI initiatives, and other left-wing education priorities.
The administration threatened to withhold approximately $510 million in federal research funding before Brown reached an agreement in July 2025 that restored the grants.
Under the agreement, Brown committed to an independent assessment of campus climate, including conditions affecting Jewish students, along with recommendations to improve the campus environment.
According to the Washington Examiner, the university also agreed to invest $50 million in Rhode Island workforce development programs and to comply with federal administration policies regarding admissions and transgender athletes.
At the time, Trump hailed the settlement on his Truth Social platform.
“Congratulations to Brown University on the settlement made with the United States Government. There will be no more Anti-Semitism, or Anti-Christian, or Anti-Anything Else! Woke is officially DEAD at Brown,” he wrote.
Paxson, who has served as the Ivy League president for 15 years, announced the upcoming end of her tenure in a letter addressed to the Brown community.
“Fifteen years is a significant tenure for any president, and in that time, this amazing community of faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents and friends showed up in so many ways to achieve the bold aspirations in the strategic plan we developed together near the beginning of my presidency,” she wrote.
The agreement with the Trump administration prompted criticism from some faculty members and students, who argued the university had made excessive concessions on issues including admissions policies and rules affecting transgender athletes.
Paxson, however, defended the agreement, saying it was necessary to protect the university’s research mission and long-term interests.
“I am proud that we came to an agreement with the federal government that restored our funding while staying true to Brown’s values,” Paxson stated in her resignation letter.
Paxson also led Brown University through the aftermath of a December campus shooting that left two people dead and nine others injured, an incident that prompted renewed scrutiny of campus security and emergency preparedness.
In a separate letter to the Brown community, Chancellor Brian T. Moynihan thanked Paxson for her leadership and announced that the university has launched a nationwide search for Brown’s 20th president, with the goal of selecting a successor before the start of the next academic year.
The administration’s efforts to end DEI practices at the country’s higher education institutes extends to those operated by and associated with the U.S. military.
In February, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon will cancel all military attendance at a group of elite universities beginning with the 2026–27 academic year, as part of a broader reshaping of military education policy, Defense Department officials said.
In a video posted on social media, Hegseth said the policy would apply to institutions that have traditionally hosted U.S. military officers for graduate and professional education, including Brown, Princeton University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Yale University.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
Shocking 'truth' behind Prince Harry's decision to quit major role
Prince Harry should have "resigned in disgrace" from the board of a controversial African wildlife charity, a commentator says. James Walker makes the bombshell remark in Wednesday's episode of this publication's podcast, Daily Expresso.
He and the show's host, JJ Anisiobi, delve into the Duke of Sussex's dramatic decision to step down from African Parks. James, commenting on the controversy, said: "When you hear about this stuff and how long it's been going on for, you should be resigning in disgrace. [Harry] should be saying: 'I'm not touching that with a barge pole. That is a failed entity. We're going nowhere near it'.
"But no. He's still saying he's going to 'support their mission'. And again this Caroline Pearce, executive director of Survival International, goes on to say: 'His departure doesn't undo that record'.
"She alleged that African Parks was aware of the abuses for years, but it was only after Survival complained to Harry that the charity finally commissioned an investigation."
James added: "Well, she's got a point."
It emerged on Monday (August 24) that Harry was no longer a board member of the wildlife charity.
The conservation organisation has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers against members of the semi-nomadic Baka group in Congo-Brazzaville.
African Parks has said since that it has improved its safeguarding processes both in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and institutionally.
Its admission followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, raped and tortured indigenous people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Harry was president of the charity for six years before he became a member of its board of directors in 2023.
A spokesman for the Duke said he remains an active and avid supporter of African Parks. He added: "The Duke is proud of his 10 years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board.
"His commitment to conservation in Africa continues and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission."
Human rights organisation, Survival International, said it had been calling on Harry to step down from African Parks for years.
The group's director, Caroline Pearce, said in a statement: "It’s outrageous that for 10 years Prince Harry has served African Parks while the organisation has been responsible for abuse and violence against Indigenous people.
"His departure doesn't undo that record — African Parks itself must now be held accountable, and must abandon this model of fortress conservation for good."
Survival International said indigenous peoples know how best to manage their land and the idea outsiders know better is racist and colonial.
