What we know about Columbia University's deal with Trump
To settle civil rights claims against the university for allegedly failing to protect students from antisemitic harassment, Columbia will pay a fine of $200 million to the federal government over three years, in three annual installments.
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Columbia also agrees to abide by pledges it made in March to the Trump administration to reduce antisemitism and rein in protests on campus. Among them: Columbia will keep its new senior vice provost, who will review Columbia's regional studies programs, including their leadership and curricula, starting with the university's Middle East programs. Columbia will appoint new faculty who have affiliations with the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and other departments. The university will maintain restrictions that bar students from protesting inside academic buildings and will require that demonstrators wearing masks show identification when asked. Columbia also agrees to employ some public safety officers with arrest powers.
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To further support Jewish life on campus, Columbia will add an administrator to serve as a liaison to students experiencing antisemitism issues.
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What else does Columbia agree to do?
The university also pledges to follow the law in areas important to the Trump administration.
For example, Columbia will 'not maintain programs that promote unlawful efforts' related to diversity, equity and inclusion and will not take race, color, sex or national origin into account in hiring decisions.
The university will abide by the Supreme Court's decision ending affirmative action in college admissions. To prove it is following the law, Columbia will provide statistical information to the government about rejected and admitted students broken down by race, GPA and performance on standardized tests, for all its schools.
Columbia will also comply with laws related to international students and agree to inform the Department of Homeland Security when a student is expelled, suspended or arrested. (The provision requiring the university to report about arrests is new; the other provisions were already required.) Columbia will also 'take steps to decrease financial dependence on international student enrollment.'
To satisfy the Trump administration's understanding of Title IX, the 1972 civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination, Columbia will provide single-sex housing for women who request it, and 'all-female sports, locker rooms, and showering facilities.'
Columbia will also follow existing law on the need to disclose foreign gifts above a certain amount.
How will the agreement be enforced?
A monitor who is approved by the university and the federal government will be appointed, and paid by Columbia, to make sure that the university and the federal government abide by their commitments. The monitor, who is named in the agreement as Bart M. Schwartz, a former prosecutor, will answer to Columbia's president and provide a report every six months.
If Columbia or the federal government identifies an issue related to the agreement that needs addressing, they can take the matter to an arbitrator, who will issue an opinion that is not binding. If that fails to solve the problem, legal action can be taken. Columbia officials are hoping that this alternative dispute resolution mechanism, and the monitor, will provide a buffer between the university and the Trump administration.
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A whistleblower hotline will be established for any member of the community to report allegations of noncompliance.
Does the deal protect Columbia's academic independence?
According to Columbia, it does. The agreement contains a sentence that says that 'no provision of this agreement, individually or taken together, shall be construed as giving the United States authority to dictate faculty hiring, university hiring, admissions decisions or the content of academic speech.'
How much money is at stake?
The Trump administration froze and canceled more than $400 million in federal research funding in March, saying that Columbia was not doing enough to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment. But it became clear over time that the real risk exposure was much greater. Columbia estimates that about $1.3 billion annually in federal scientific research funding would have been at risk if no deal had been made, enough to shut down much of the university's research enterprise.
What does Columbia get out of the deal?
The main gain is the return of federal research funding. Columbia will get off the federal blacklist and be able to again get federal grant funding. Scientists will again be able to draw from grant funds that were approved but have been frozen. And the university's scientists will be able to compete again for new federal grants.
The deal will also settle pending investigations and compliance reviews regarding Columbia's compliance with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on race, color, national origin and other factors. And the agreement provides Columbia with a framework to contain future confrontations with the Trump administration before they spiral out of control.
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