Cornell University announced Friday it has reached an agreement with the Trump administration to restore over $250 million in federal funding, ending all ongoing investigations into the university over allegations of racial discrimination and antisemitism, The Hill reported.
The deal includes $60 million in spending by Cornell - $30 million as a fine to the federal government and another $30 million earmarked for agriculture and farming programs.
“The decades-long research partnership between Cornell and the federal government is critical to advancing the university’s core mission and to our continuing contributions to the nation’s health, welfare, and economic and military strength. This agreement revives that partnership, while affirming the university’s commitment to the principles of academic freedom, independence, and institutional autonomy that, from our founding, have been integral to our excellence,” said Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff.
As part of the agreement, Cornell will continue conducting annual campus climate surveys, including specific assessments of the environment for Jewish students. The university will also provide anonymized admissions data to the Trump administration through the end of 2028.
“I will personally certify our institutional compliance with the agreement on a regular basis, and Cornell will provide anonymized admissions data and continue to conduct campus climate surveys and carry out foreign gift and contract reporting in accordance with existing law,” Kotlikoff added.
Cornell is the fifth known institution to reach such a deal with the Trump administration, which has used the suspension of federal funding as a tool to drive institutional change in higher education. The agreement does not prevent future compliance reviews from being initiated.
Cornell is among the universities to have come under fire for its handling of rising antisemitism on campus since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The most egregious incident at Cornell saw a student arrested after threatening to kill Jews on campus.
The menacing messages, posted on a forum about fraternities and sororities, alarmed students at the school in upstate New York and led to students being advised to stay away from the school’s kosher dining hall.
The student, Patrick Dai, later pleaded guilty to posting the threatening messages. He was sentenced in August to 21 months in prison.
In another incident, Cornell History Professor Russell Rickford was placed on “voluntary leave” after widespread public outcry when he was recorded at an off-campus anti-Israel rally cheering the Hamas attack as “exhilarating” and “energizing”.
Rickford later apologized for his comments and was back teaching at the school this past fall.
Just a few weeks ago, the student-run newspaper Cornell Daily Sun removed a graphic that depicted Nazi SS bolts inside a bloody Star of David, placed on the back of a figure with clasped hands before a keffiyeh-style backdrop.