Ivy League institution, Columbia University, reaches over $220 million settlement with President Trump to reinstate federal aid
Columbia University has reached a landmark settlement with the federal government, agreeing to pay over $220 million to resolve allegations of antisemitism and civil rights violations. The university will pay $200 million to settle civil rights claims and an additional $21 million to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to address discrimination against Jewish employees.
The agreement, announced in July 2025, comes after months of fraught negotiations and federal scrutiny over allegations that Columbia University failed to combat campus antisemitism. The university's leadership, consisting of three interim presidents in the last year, has declared that the campus climate needs to change.
Key reforms mandated by the settlement include the incorporation of a federally recognized definition of antisemitism into university disciplinary and academic policies, the revision of student protest guidelines, enhanced campus security measures, the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee the implementation of these changes, and the creation of an administrator role dedicated to serving as a liaison on antisemitism issues and supporting Jewish students on campus.
The settlement also requires Columbia University to review its Middle East curriculum to ensure it is "comprehensive and balanced." The university will also ask prospective international students questions designed to elicit their reasons for wishing to study in the United States. Columbia University will appoint new faculty to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies as part of the deal.
The university has promised to end programs that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes and will issue a report to a monitor assuring that its programs do not promote unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals. The agreement safeguards the university's independence, a critical condition for academic excellence and scholarly exploration.
The Trump administration portrayed the settlement as a victory for fairness, academic excellence, and safety on elite campuses, asserting it serves as a model for addressing antisemitism and civil rights issues at other universities like Harvard. However, critics have viewed the agreement as politically motivated, accusing it of imposing authoritarian demands and conservative priorities on academic institutions.
Columbia University has not admitted wrongdoing but accepted the reforms as necessary to move forward and restore a safe, nondiscriminatory campus environment compliant with federal law. The settlement comes after Columbia University was threatened with the potential loss of billions of dollars in government support, including more than $400 million in grants canceled earlier this year. Wednesday's agreement codifies the reforms while preserving the university's autonomy, allowing its essential research partnership with the federal government to resume.
- The settlement, mandated by the federal government, requires Columbia University to incorporate a federally recognized definition of antisemitism into its disciplinary and academic policies.
- As part of the agreement, Columbia University will revise its student protest guidelines, enhance campus security measures, and appoint an independent monitor to oversee the implementation of these changes.
- The university will also create an administrator role dedicated to serving as a liaison on antisemitism issues and supporting Jewish students on campus.
- Columbia University's Middle East curriculum will be reviewed to ensure it is comprehensive and balanced, and the university will appoint new faculty to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies as part of the deal.
- The university has promised to end programs that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes and will issue a report to a monitor assuring that its programs do not promote unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals.
