Cornell University struck a deal with the Trump administration on Friday in order to win back the $1 billion in federal funding stripped from it in April.
Cornell has agreed to fork over $30 million over three years to the federal government along with data proving it is not racially discriminating in its admissions process. The administration pulled the Ivy League university’s federal funding after accusing it of civil rights violations relating to anti-Israel protests and affirmative action policies.
The university will also pay another $30 million over three years toward research grants “to strengthen U.S. agriculture and help build even more successful and productive farms.”
“I am pleased that our good faith discussions with the White House, Department of Justice, and Department of Education have concluded with an agreement that acknowledges the government’s commitment to enforce existing anti-discrimination law, while protecting our academic freedom and institutional independence,” Cornell president Michael I. Kotlikoff said in a statement. “These discussions have now yielded a result that will enable us to return to our teaching and research in restored partnership with federal agencies.”
The terms of the agreement require Cornell to submit quarterly updates regarding its civil rights compliance and conduct annual campus climate surveys in an effort to protect Jewish students, a White House official told the DCNF. In exchange, Cornell has earned back its grant funding and is once again eligible to apply for new grants. Several pending investigations into the university’s civil rights compliance have been closed.
“The Trump Administration has secured another transformative commitment from an Ivy League institution to end divisive DEl policies,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement on X. “Thanks to this deal with Cornell and the ongoing work of DOJ, HHS, and the team at ED, U.S. universities are refocusing their attention on merit, rigor, and truth-seeking – not ideology. These reforms are a huge win in the fight to restore excellence to American higher education and make our schools the greatest in the world.”
Both parties have agreed to uphold the university’s academic freedom.
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