The General Services Administration, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to Columbia University’s Interim President, Katrina Armstrong, detailing the university’s “next steps” following the termination of federal funding.
“US taxpayers invest enormously in US colleges and universities, including Columbia University, and it is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure that all recipients are responsible stewards of federal funds,” the letter says. “Columbia University, however, has fundamentally failed to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment in addition to other alleged violations of Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
The letter goes on to list “immediate next steps” that the agencies “regard as a precondition for formal negotiations regarding Columbia University’s continued financial relationship with the United States government.”
The Trump administration urged the university to “enforce existing disciplinary policies,” implement a “mask ban,” “empower internal law enforcement,” and create a plan for “comprehensive admissions reform.”
Columbia University announced on Thursday that it expelled students involved in a protest where activists seized a campus building.
“Today, the Columbia University Judicial Board determined findings and issued sanctions to students ranging from multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions related to the occupation of Hamilton Hall last spring,” the statement read. “With respect to other events taking place last spring, the UJB’s determinations recognized previously imposed disciplinary action. The return of suspended students will be overseen by Columbia’s University Life Office. Columbia is committed to enforcing the University’s Rules and Policies and improving our disciplinary processes.”
Last week, several agencies released a joint statement on the university’s grant termination, explaining that the cancellation stems from the university’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
More cancellations are expected, the statement noted, as the current grant terminations are the “first round of action,” the statement read.
