Ivy League institution, Columbia University, strikes a $220M deal with ex-President Trump to reinstate federal funding
Columbia University has agreed to pay a total of $221 million over three years, in a deal with the Trump administration that will see the restoration of previously frozen federal research funding. The settlement, which includes a payment of $200 million to the federal government and an additional $21 million related to a workplace harassment investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will allow the university to resume grants and future research opportunities.
The key elements of the deal include several significant reforms aimed at addressing allegations of antisemitism and civil rights violations.
Disciplinary Actions & Campus Safety
Columbia will discipline students responsible for severe disruptions and address failures to ensure a safe, non-discriminatory campus environment with respect to antisemitism and free inquiry.
Structural Changes
The university will make changes to its Faculty Senate and increase viewpoint diversity, particularly in Middle Eastern studies programs, to reduce the influence of what the administration called “leftist groupthink”.
Admissions and Hiring Practices
Columbia has agreed to eliminate race preferences in admissions and hiring, pledging to keep admissions merit-based and comply with federal anti-discrimination laws. The university will also end Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs that provide benefits or preferences based on race, race quotas, or diversity targets.
Compliance Mechanisms
The agreement establishes an independent resolution monitor and arbitration procedures for dispute resolution to ensure Columbia meets the terms of the settlement. This includes a prescribed government process for assessing compliance before taking action.
It's important to note that Columbia did not admit liability or wrongdoing under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. However, the university acknowledged that Jewish students and faculty experienced painful incidents, and that reforms were necessary.
The Trump administration characterised this deal as a landmark step towards holding elite universities accountable for antisemitism, discrimination, and maintaining academic and civil standards. This reflects a broader push against what the administration called ideologically biased campus cultures.
In summary, the agreement restores federal funding for Columbia while mandating structural reforms to combat antisemitism, ensure constitutional civil rights protections, eliminate racial quotas in hiring and admissions, and improve campus governance and compliance oversight.
The pressure on Columbia began with a series of funding cuts, and the administration pulled funding because of the university’s failure to squelch antisemitism during the Israel-Hamas war. The Trump administration has used federal research funding as its primary lever in its campaign to reshape higher education, with investigations into diversity, equity, and inclusion practices at the University of Virginia and George Mason University.
As part of the agreement, Columbia has agreed to review its Middle East curriculum and appoint new faculty to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. The university will also have to end programs that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes and issue a report to a monitor assuring that its programs do not promote unlawful DEI goals.
Over $2 billion in total has been frozen at Cornell, Northwestern, Brown, and Princeton universities, and the administration is looking beyond private universities in its push to reform higher education.
References:
[1] The New York Times. (2020, October 15). Columbia University Agrees to Overhaul Amid Probe of Bias. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/15/us/columbia-university-antisemitism-investigation.html
[2] The Washington Post. (2020, October 15). Columbia University agrees to overhaul in settlement with Trump administration. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/10/15/columbia-university-agrees-overhaul-settlement-trump-administration/
[3] The Wall Street Journal. (2020, October 15). Columbia University Agrees to Overhaul in Settlement With Trump Administration. https://www.wsj.com/articles/columbia-university-agrees-to-overhaul-in-settlement-with-trump-administration-11602831206
[4] The Jewish News Syndicate. (2020, October 15). Columbia University agrees to overhaul in settlement with Trump administration. https://www.jns.org/columbia-university-agrees-to-overhaul-in-settlement-with-trump-administration/
- The settlement between Columbia University and the Trump administration, worth $221 million over three years, includes changes in the university's finance, business, and education-and-self-development sectors, aiming to combat allegations of antisemitism and civil rights violations.
- The agreement, covering politics and general-news topics, sees Columbia University pledging to eliminate race preferences in admissions and hiring, ensuring merit-based admissions and complying with federal anti-discrimination laws.
- In addition, the settlement establishes an independent resolution monitor and arbitration procedures for dispute resolution in the realm of crime-and-justice, ensuring Columbia meets the terms of the agreement and maintains academic and civil standards.
