Brown University President Christina Paxson to step down

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, have argued that criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories has been wrongly labeled as antisemitism, and that advocacy for Palestinian rights has been misconstrued as support for extremism. Following administration threats to withhold $510 million in federal grants, Paxson negotiated a deal in July 2025 to reinstate the funding. The agreement stipulated that the university would undergo a third-party evaluation of its campus climate, particularly for Jewish students, and propose improvements.

However, in October, Paxson rejected a proposal extended to nine elite universities. This offer suggested that schools would receive preferential treatment for federal funding if they limited the number of international students, defined gender based on biological sex, and prohibited the use of race or sex in hiring and admissions processes. Paxson stated at the time that accepting such terms would "restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown's governance."

In her farewell letter, Paxson noted that "while the federal landscape remains volatile for all colleges and universities, Brown is receiving major grants for pioneering research that will lead to tremendous innovation for this country." During her tenure, Paxson also guided the university through a tragic campus shooting in December, which resulted in two student fatalities and nine injuries. The perpetrator subsequently killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor before dying by suicide. Federal authorities subsequently reviewed Brown's emergency notification and campus surveillance systems.