Ivy League Prez Who Reversed Feds' Funding Cuts Steps Down

Brown University will soon lose the Ivy League's longest-serving current president. Christina Paxson said Monday she'll step down at the close of the 2026 academic year, calling it "the best path for Brown" after 15 years on the job. Paxson will leave a year before her current term, which had been extended for two years this past June after she agreed to stay on to see the school through clashes with the Trump administration, is set to expire, reports the Boston Globe. Her tenure's final stretch was defined by those federal funding clashes and a deadly campus shooting in December that killed two and wounded nine.

Brown last year accepted a settlement that restored $510 million in threatened federal research funds in exchange for Brown's $50 million workforce development pledge, but which the New York Times notes drew criticism for coming in line with Trump-era stances on transgender athletes and admissions. Paxson later publicly rejected a proposed federal "compact" tying research money to ideological conformity, and said in Monday's letter that she was proud of the settlement "that restored our funding while staying true to Brown's values. 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." Brown's chancellor, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, said a national search for her successor is underway.