Columbia University reaches deal to restore federal funding

The university brokered an agreement with the Trump administration on Wednesday to pay $200 million in civil rights penalties so it can resume receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. The resolution agreement spans three years, building on previously promised policy changes from the school in response to concerns that included anti-Semitism on campus. The agreement also includes annually scheduled payments toward the $200 million of penalties. Columbia admitted no guilt or liability with the resolution, according to a Wednesday statement from the university.

What does the agreement include? The agreement outlined the installation of an independent monitor who will document and assess the school’s commitment to implementing agreed-upon changes. Those include establishing a student life liaison to support Jewish students and appointing faculty from Columbia’s Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies to its departments of economics, political science, or international relations.

The school also committed to enacting changes previously brokered with the administration, including a ban on all protests inside academic buildings and affiliated areas. Columbia also planned to require protesters wearing masks to identify themselves upon request or face disciplinary actions like removal from campus or detention. The school also vowed to discipline student clubs that behave discriminately and violate university policy. It planned to keep at least three dozen special officers with arrest powers on campus.

Columbia’s changes reflected executive orders issued by President Donald Trump, including a promise to maintain merit-based hiring and admissions, and remove other DEI-centered programs and policies. The school also agreed to uphold Title IX and protect women-only dorms, bathrooms, and locker rooms from men and comply with immigration information requests from the government. Officials brokered the resolution the day after Columbia announced sweeping sanctions on students who participated in disruptive, pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Sanctions included academic probation, suspensions of at least one year, degree revocations, and expulsions.

The resolution was signed by a representative for Columbia University, along with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report for more about Columbia disciplining student protesters.