Brown University president Christina Paxson to step down after Trump administration clashes

Brown University President Christina Paxson announced Monday she will step down at the end of the academic year, concluding a tenure marked by significant challenges. Paxson had planned to leave a year earlier but extended her term to navigate a federal funding freeze that threatened the university's mission.

Brown became an early target for the Trump administration, which scrutinized US universities over issues including responses to protests against Israel's war in Gaza, diversity policies, and other matters. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, argued the administration wrongly conflated criticism of the Gaza conflict with antisemitism.

In July 2025, Paxson secured the restoration of $510 million in federal grants. This agreement followed threats of a funding freeze and required Brown to conduct a third-party evaluation of its campus climate and propose improvements. However, Paxson later declined an administration offer that would have conditioned federal funding on capping international student numbers, defining gender by biology, and banning race or sex in hiring and admissions, citing concerns over academic freedom and university autonomy.

Paxson's tenure also included navigating a tragic campus shooting in December 2025, where a former student killed two students and injured nine before taking his own life after killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor. Federal authorities subsequently reviewed Brown's emergency notification and campus surveillance systems.

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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.