Columbia University to pay US$200m in funding deal

RTHK

24-07-2025

Columbia University to pay US$200m in funding deal
Columbia University faculty and staff members protest the university' stance in its standoff with the Trump administration in June. File photo: Reuters
Columbia University said on Wednesday it will pay US$200 million to the US government after President Donald Trump threatened to pull federal funding over what he said was its unwillingness to protect Jewish students.
In a sweeping deal that will restore the prestigious New York institution's federal monies, Columbia has pledged to obey rules that bar it from taking race into consideration in admissions or hiring, among other concessions.
"Columbia University has reached an agreement with the United States government to resolve multiple federal agency investigations into alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws," it said, adding that the US$200 million would be paid over three years.
The university will also pay US$21 million to settle investigations brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it said.
"Under today's agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 will be reinstated and Columbia's access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored," it said.
The promise of the federal funding spigot reopening offers relief for the university, which was under growing financial pressure, despite a comfortable endowment and a reputation it can bank on.
The agreement also represents a victory for Trump, who has repeatedly claimed elite universities brainwash students against his nationalist ideas with left-wing bias.
Thanking Columbia for "agreeing to do what is right," Trump warned in a social media post that "numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust... are upcoming."
The centuries-old Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is also in a fight with the administration over Trump's threats to rip away federal funding, and Wednesday's carefully worded agreement – in which Columbia admitted no wrongdoing – could offer a framework for future deals.
"This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty," Columbia's acting president Claire Shipman said.
"The settlement was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track.
"Importantly, it safeguards our independence, a critical condition for academic excellence and scholarly exploration, work that is vital to the public interest."
Under the settlement, Columbia will maintain a security force to prevent demonstrations in academic spaces, such as those that rocked the campus last year when pro-Palestinian protestors clashed with law enforcement and occupied university buildings.
The school also agreed to "promptly provide" federal authorities with any requested information on "disciplinary actions involving student visa-holders resulting in expulsions or suspensions, and arrest records that Columbia is aware of for criminal activity, including trespass or other violation of law." (AFP)