Cornell University to pay $60M in deal with Trump administration to restore federal funding

Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff announced the agreement Friday. The New York-based university will pay $30 million directly to the U.S. government and another $30 million toward agriculture and farming research programs.

The agreement upholds the university's academic freedom while restoring more than $250 million in research funding that the government withheld amid investigations into alleged civil rights violations, Kotlikoff said.

"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."

Kotlikoff said the agreement recognizes Cornell's right to independently establish its own policies and procedures, choose whom to hire and admit and determine what is taught without government monitoring or approval.

The six-page agreement requires the university to comply with federal civil rights laws, including those involving antisemitism and racial discrimination. In addition, the university agreed to provide the Department of Justice's "Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination" as a training resource to faculty and staff and will continue to conduct annual surveys to evaluate the campus climate for Cornell students.

In April, the Trump administration froze more than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell over potential civil rights violations.

The administration said it was taking a more aggressive role in addressing campus antisemitism, accusing President Joe Biden of failing to hold universities accountable for violent protests.

"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," Kotlikoff said.