Brown University President Christina Paxson to step down before her contract ends

Brown University President Christina H. Paxson announced Monday she will step down at the end of the 2026-27 academic year — a full year before the end of her current contract, which was extended last year.

Paxson, who became Brown’s 19th president in July 2012, wrote in a letter to the university community Monday that she had “mixed emotions” when she told the school’s ruling body, the Corporation of Brown University, earlier Monday about the early end to her tenure.

But Paxson, 66, maintained in her letter that this is “the right decision for me and my family. And I firmly believe that it is the best path for Brown.”

“Fifteen years is a significant tenure for any president, and in that time, this amazing community of faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents and friends showed up in so many ways to achieve the bold aspirations in the strategic plan we developed together near the beginning of my presidency,” Paxson wrote, adding that the campus “worked vigilantly to demonstrate the value of Brown to the world.”

She wrote that Brown should have a change in leadership so that “the vision for the next phase is set by Brown’s next leader and stewarded by them from the beginning.”

In his own letter to the school community Monday, University Chancellor Brian T. Moynihan said the Corporation will launch a national search for Brown’s next president with participation from the campus community, although there’s no timeline yet for choosing Paxson’s successor.

In May 2025, the Corporation of Brown University unanimously approved an extension of Paxson’s term through June 30, 2028. Her presidency would have expired in June 2026 without the extension. At the time of the extension, Paxson said her decision to stay on was influenced by a federal freeze on certain research funding and broader uncertainty in academia amid changes introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Brown University extends Paxson’s presidential term through June 2028

Paxson — a Columbia University-educated economist whose own research focused on poverty, health, education and inequality — reiterated in her Monday letter that she remained president to “help Brown navigate a federal funding freeze that imperiled our mission of research and education.”

Brown and the Trump administration later struck a deal that reimbursed the university for more than $50 million in unpaid federal grant costs, and also melted a deeper freeze that could have tied up about $510 million in grants for health and life sciences research at the university.

As part of the bargain, Brown was required to provide $50 million over 10 years to local workforce development initiatives. The settlement also concluded three federal probes: one involving race-conscious admissions, another involving alleged Title VI violations and a third regarding the school’s response to antisemitism on campus. Brown was not required to make payments to the federal government or admit wrongdoing.

“I am proud that we came to an agreement with the federal government that restored our funding while staying true to Brown’s values,” Paxson wrote.

Brown also agreed to adhere to revised federal definitions of gender when it came to university athletics and housing. Paxson’s decision to accept the compromise that offered only binary definitions of gender drew criticism from some students, faculty and LGBTQ+ advocates who saw it as a capitulation to the Trump administration.

Other high-profile incidents which transpired during Paxson’s tenure included the campus shooting in December 2025, which killed two students and injured nine people, as well as on-campus conflicts over the Gaza war. In April 2024, Paxson reached an agreement with pro-Palestinian students to end their weeklong encampment on Brown’s College Green. A student-led initiative to have the Corporation divest from companies connected to Israel was rejected later that year.

Moynihan attached to his letter a list of “major highlights” from Paxson’s presidency.

“Chris has steered the University through very challenging times, including a pandemic, dramatic policy changes for higher education, and a tragic shooting,” Moynihan wrote. “She has done so with that balance of commitment to academic excellence, operational excellence and a collaborative philosophy.”

Among those accomplishments credited to Paxson are more than $2 billion in campus investments, including about $700 million in Providence’s Jewelry District. The BrownTogether fundraising campaign saw more than 76,800 donors contribute over $4.4 billion during Paxson’s tenure.

The creation or expansion of institutions including the School of Public Health, Brown Arts Institute and Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship occurred during Paxson’s presidency, as did the elimination of loans from undergraduate financial aid packages and tuition for families making under $125,000 a year.

“I will look back on my time as Brown’s president as the most rewarding job I could possibly have had,” Paxson wrote in her letter. “Truly, it has been the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Paxson said she will soon outline priorities and goals for her final year in the president’s office.

“This is not a time to put ambitious plans on pause,” she wrote. “I look forward to working with all of you as we continue to move Brown forward.”