(MENAFN) Christina Paxson, the president of Brown University, officially refused on Wednesday to endorse an agreement proposed by the Trump administration.

The compact aimed to prioritize federal research funding in exchange for adopting specific higher education policies preferred by federal officials. Paxson cited major worries that the initiative would jeopardize academic freedom.

In a letter addressed to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and White House staffers May Mailman and Vincent Haley, Paxson expressed her apprehension that agreeing to the memo’s conditions “would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance.”

The document, called “A Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” urged nine prestigious universities to limit international undergraduate enrollment to 15%, ban the consideration of race or sex in admissions and hiring processes, and enforce gender definitions strictly based on biological sex.

Earlier in July, Brown secured a $50 million agreement with the US government to reinstate funding for federally supported medical and health sciences research, while also settling three ongoing reviews.

Paxson emphasized that her Ivy League institution remains dedicated to the July agreement and its protection of Brown’s fundamental values “in ways that the compact — in any form — fundamentally would not.”

While affirming her willingness to collaborate with the federal government, Paxson underscored that Brown’s current deal confirms “the government’s lack of authority to dictate our curriculum or the content of academic speech — a principle that is not reflected in the Compact.”

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