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By Jenna Sundel and Gabe Whisnant
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Cornell University has agreed to pay $60 million and accept the Trump administration’s interpretation of civil rights laws to resolve federal investigations and restore more than $250 million in frozen research funding, the university announced Friday.
Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said the agreement ends months of negotiations with the federal government and restores a key funding partnership while preserving Cornell’s academic independence. Under the deal, Cornell will pay $30 million directly to the U.S. government and another $30 million to support agricultural research benefiting American farmers.
Why It Matters
In a statement, Kotlikoff said the agreement “revives” Cornell’s long-standing collaboration with federal agencies while reaffirming its commitment to academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The federal government had withheld the research funds amid investigations into alleged civil rights violations at the Ivy League school.
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Fellow Ivy League universities Columbia and Brown reached deals with the administration to restore federal funding in July. Columbia agreed to pay $200 million to the government, while Brown agreed to pay $50 million to Rhode Island workforce development organizations.
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What To Know
The agreement requires Cornell to comply with the government’s interpretation of civil rights laws on issues involving antisemitism, racial discrimination and transgender issues. The university agreed to use a memo by the Department of Justice that orders colleges to abandon diversity, equity and inclusion programs as a training resource for faculty and staff.
Cornell is also required to report admissions data to the government to ensure that race is no longer being considered as a factor in admissions decisions.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon called it a “transformative commitment” that puts a focus on “merit, rigor, and truth-seeking.”
Kotlikoff said the university was not found to be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in any of the investigations or reviews of the university's programs, all of which the government has agreed to close.
What People Are Saying
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, on X: "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."
Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff, in a statement: "The months of stop-work orders, grant terminations, and funding freezes have stalled cutting-edge research, upended lives and careers, and threatened the future of academic programs at Cornell. I am grateful for the dedication and resilience of the faculty, staff, and students who have found ways to continue moving critical work forward throughout these unprecedented events. With this resolution, Cornell looks forward to resuming the long and fruitful partnership with the federal government that has yielded, for so many years, so much progress and well-being for our nation and our world."
What Happens Next
The agreement is effective through the end of 2028. Cornell's president must certify compliance with the agreement each quarter.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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