Brown University took out a $300,000,000 loan shortly after the Trump administration froze $510 million in grants to the school.
The loan was issued by an undisclosed lender on April 11, about a week after the administration paused the grants over concerns the school was hosting illegal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and had not properly addressed antisemitism on campus.
“Given the volatility in the capital markets and the uncertainty regarding future federal policy related to research and other important priorities of Brown, the University is fortunate to have a number of sources of liquidity, including commercial paper programs, bank lines and the private and public debt markets that are available to help us manage our finances and priorities during this period,” a Brown University spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation, confirming the $300 million loan. “Rather than entering the public taxable debt markets, as some other highly rated peers have done recently, Brown chose to negotiate directly with a lender in order to tailor the loan to our particular objectives.”
In December, Brown announced it had created a plan to target communications and place recruitment offices around the country to focus on “matriculation and retention of a diverse community of students,” despite the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling banning similar affirmative action policies.
“Brown remains committed to complying with the law while fostering a diverse and inclusive community as integral to our mission of academic excellence,” the school said in a statement at the time.
With the Trump administration cracking down on universities over their alleged failure to protect Jewish students on campus and comply with civil rights laws, some schools have begun looking elsewhere to recoup the millions of federal dollars stripped from them. Harvard recently borrowed $750 million from Wall Street after the Department of Education (ED) put $8.7 billion of its federal grant money under review over antisemitism concerns.
The Trump administration established the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, made up of ED, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in February to confront the growing tension on college campuses caused by pro-Hamas protests. At some schools, demonstrators organized weeks-long encampments, took over campus buildings, harassed Jewish students on campus and clashed with police, often facing little to no punishment for their actions.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Brown University.
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