Topline
Cornell University agreed to pay $60 million in fines to restore over $250 million in frozen federal funding Friday, marking the latest university to reach an agreement with the Trump administration over antisemitism allegations linked to pro-Palestinian protests that took place on several campuses last year.
The agreement was announced Friday. (Photo by Matt Burkhartt/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Cornell’s research funding will be immediately restored under the agreement, which requires it to pay a $30 million fine over three years to the federal government to end investigations into the antisemitism allegations.
The university will also invest $30 million over the same course of time into agricultural research programs that “directly benefit U.S. farmers through lower costs of production and enhanced efficiency,” according to the agreement’s text.
The agreement comes after Cornell considered issuing about $1 billion in bonds and warned about potential layoffs in June, according to The New York Times, citing university leaders who said Cornell needed to “address our significant financial shortfalls by reducing costs and enacting permanent change to our operational model.”
Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff said in a statement 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.”
Cornell will be required to conduct annual surveys on how students, including those with Jewish ancestry, feel about the school and whether they feel safe reporting antisemitism at Cornell.
Cornell also agreed to provide the government with anonymized undergraduate admissions data for the next three years as the Trump administration scrutinizes the use of race in admissions.
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Crucial Quote
“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,” Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff said in his statement.
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