Cornell University struck a deal with the Trump administration to take back hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. The university will invest $30 million over three years in agricultural research, as well as pay $30 million over three years directly to the government.
“Cornell has not been found in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in any of the investigations or compliance reviews of the university’s programs pending at the Department of Justice, Department of Education, or Department of Health and Human Services, and the government has agreed to close all of these investigations and reviews,” Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff said in a statement on the agreement. “The government has further agreed to restore terminated federal grants, release all withheld funds for active grants, and consider Cornell fully eligible for new grants and funding awards, without disadvantage or preference.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon celebrated the agreement, saying it signals the end of “divisive DEI policies.”
“Thanks to this deal with Cornell and the ongoing work of DOJ, HHS, and the team at ED, U.S. universities are refocusing their attention on merit, rigor, and truth-seeking – not ideology,” she wrote 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’s agreement with the Trump administration demands that it conduct annual surveys addressing the campus climate for students, “including the climate for students with shared Jewish ancestry.” The university will also “comply with all foreign gift and contract reporting obligations.”
