Columbia University announced on Wednesday that it had reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay more than $220 million to the federal government to restore federal research money that was cancelled in the name of combating antisemitism on campus.AdvertisementUnder the agreement, the Ivy League school will pay a $200 million settlement over three years, the university said. It will also pay $21 million to resolve alleged civil rights violations against Jewish employees that occurred following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, the White House said.“This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty,” acting University President Claire Shipman said.The school had been threatened with the potential loss of billions of dollars in government support, including more than $400 million in grants cancelled earlier this year. The administration pulled the funding because of what it described as the university’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus during the Israel-Hamas war.Columbia has since agreed to a series of demands laid out by the Republican administration, including overhauling the university’s student disciplinary process and applying a contentious, federally endorsed definition of antisemitism not only to teaching but to a disciplinary committee that has been investigating students critical of Israel.Wednesday’s agreement — which does not include an admission of wrongdoing — codifies those reforms while preserving the university’s autonomy, Shipman said.Columbia’s reforms are a roadmap,’ Trump administration saysEducation Secretary Linda McMahon called the deal “a seismic shift in our nation’s fight to hold institutions that accept American taxpayer dollars accountable for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.”“Columbia’s reforms are a roadmap for elite universities that wish to regain the confidence of the American public by renewing their commitment to truth-seeking, merit, and civil debate,” McMahon said in a statement.As part of the agreement, Columbia agreed to a series of changes previously announced in March, including reviewing its Middle East curriculum to make sure it was “comprehensive and balanced” and appointing new faculty to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. It also promised to end programmes “that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes, quotes, diversity targets or similar efforts.” The university will also have to issue a report to a monitor assuring that its programs “do not promote unlawful DEI goals.”Crackdown follows Columbia protestsThe pact comes after months of uncertainty and fraught negotiations at the more than 270-year-old university. It was among the first targets of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protests and on colleges that he asserts have allowed Jewish students be threatened and harassed.Columbia’s own antisemitism task force found last summer that Jewish students had faced verbal abuse, ostracism and classroom humiliation during the spring 2024 demonstrations.
Columbia University agrees to pay $220-million to Trump administration to restore federal funding
