Northwestern University will pay $75 million to the federal government over the next three years to end an antisemitism investigation by the Trump administration and restore hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen funds, reported CBS News.
The agreement was announced Friday night by the university and the Trump administration, which froze $790 million in federal funds for Northwestern in April, accusing the school of fostering antisemitism on campus.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi hailed the deal: “Today’s settlement marks another victory in the Trump Administration’s fight to ensure that American educational institutions protect Jewish students and put merit first. Institutions that accept federal funds are obligated to follow civil rights law - we are grateful to Northwestern for negotiating this historic deal.”
Northwestern said it expects all frozen federal funding to be fully restored within 30 days. In addition to the $75 million payment, the university agreed to review international admissions, train international students on campus norms, and reaffirm protections for Jewish members of the community.
Interim President Henry Bienen defended the settlement, stressing that the university preserved full control over hiring, admissions, and curriculum. “As an imperative to the negotiation of this agreement, we had several hard red lines we refused to cross: We would not relinquish any control over whom we hire, whom we admit as students, what our faculty teach or how our faculty teach. I would not have signed this agreement without provisions ensuring that is the case. Northwestern runs Northwestern. Period.”
The funding freeze had already forced Northwestern into hiring freezes, layoffs, and program cutbacks. Former President Michael Schill resigned in September amid the fallout.
Northwestern is one of several universities to have reached agreements with the Trump administration to end probes of campus antisemitism. Columbia University agreed to a $200 million settlement in July, while Cornell University paid $30 million earlier this month.