Christina Paxson - 23 Who Made a Difference in RI in 2023

Christina Paxson - 23 Who Made a Difference in RI in 2023

Brown University's president, Christina Paxson, seemed to be hiding on College Hill this past year.

Unlike many of her predecessors — such as Howard Swearer, Vartan Gregorian and Ruth Simmons — Paxson did not lead on critical issues but seemed to try and close the gates around Brown and her own reputation.

The school traded a seat of the corporation and the naming rights for the new performing arts center to the Lindemann family for a major gift — a family tied to one of Rhode Island’s worst environmental crimes, the murder of one of their horses, and looted art.

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She did not take kindly to questions about the Lindemann family.

Brown was embarrassed by being ranked 67th by the Wall Street Journal Best Colleges in America.

Then, more recently, Paxson has stumbled and bumbled her way through the management of protests of the Hamas-Israel war and anti-semitism.

Brown University officials sent an internal email notice to faculty and staff identifying a recent incident not as an act of “anti-Semitism” — but chose to call the incident “bias-related.”

Previously, Brown had referred to anti-Semitic incidents as acts of “anti-Semitism.”

When asked about the incident, Brown refused to comment.

In November, the National Review reported on Paxson in "Brown University President Omits Reference to Jewish Students After Heckling from Pro-Palestinian Activists."

An exclusive report by GoLocal found that Brown had accepted $11 million from Palestine, with millions of it going to underwrite a controversial member of the faculty. 

According to the federal database, Brown has received no donations from Israel.

For the first time, Paxson banned the press from a Brown event — literally closing the gates. At the event, students booed Paxson off the stage.