Universities across the country are deciding whether to comply with the Trump administration’s funding freeze to crucial research grants, the most recent being Cornell University’s restoration deal effective Nov. 7.
Cornell agreed to pay the administration $30 million, while dedicating an additional $30 million to United States agriculture research over three years, to restore funding and close pending civil rights and other investigations. Cornell agreed to provide the administration with undergraduate admission data and conduct an annual survey to evaluate the campus climate, among other requirements.
Meanwhile, Northwestern, which was first reported by The New York Times along with Cornell, remains in a $790 million federal funding freeze amid ongoing civil rights investigations.
In response to frozen research funds, the University committed to financially support research impacted by the freeze until the end of the calendar year, costing the institution between $30 million and $40 million per month, according to interim President Henry Bienen. The University has also undergone budget cuts, staff cuts and a hiring freeze.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the University was in active talks with the Trump officials over settlements in July, which has since slowed, as reported by the New York Times in September.
In an interview with The Daily on Oct. 17, Bienen said the University has yet to receive a set of demands or requests by the Trump administration. Bienen also added that NU sent “some ideas” to the administration and has not heard back. He declined to clarify what was sent to the administration.
At the Oct. 15 Faculty Assembly, Bienen said that he wanted to make a deal with the Trump administration but will not put his name on an agreement that “hinders the autonomy of the University.”
Columbia University was the first institution to make a deal, with a $200 million settlement across three years and a $21 million payment to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to compensate employees over claims of antisemitism.
In exchange, much of Columbia’s funding has been restored, and faculty can apply to future grants. The deal also puts an end to federal civil rights investigations with no admission of wrongdoing.
Federal and university officials must select an independent monitor to oversee Columbia’s compliance. The Trump administration introduced conditions including sharing applicant data, reviewing regionally-focused academics and maintaining a standing university police force with at least 36 officers.
Brown University made an agreement with the administration on July 30, agreeing to pay $50 million over 10 years to workforce development organizations of Brown’s choice in Rhode Island.
In return, Brown must provide admissions data, stop providing gender-affirming care to minors and conduct a climate survey, among other conditions.
In contrast, Harvard University pushed back, filing a lawsuit one week after the $2.2 billion freeze. Harvard rejected the list of demands by the federal government, which included governance reform, an audit of programs that the Trump administration said “fuel antisemetic harassment” and discontinuation of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs.
A total of 24 universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and five Ivy League schools, filed an amicus brief supporting Harvard on June 9 aiming to provide insight to the court. The brief argued that, due to the intertwined nature of academic research, the funding freeze would hinder American innovation.
Though the judge supported the Trump administration’s investigation of antisemetic behavior, the judge ruled Sept. 3 that the freeze violated Harvard’s First Amendment rights with little connection between research and antisemitism. Since then, the majority of funding has been restored.
In an Oct. 17 interview with The Daily, Bienen said he did not want to sue the Trump administration.
The “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” was initially offered to nine institutions on Oct. 1 — seven of which publicly declined — and was extended to all universities on Oct. 15. The compact would require institutional changes in exchange for preferential funding treatment, including a ban on considering race, sex and political views in admissions, a 15% cap on international enrollment, transparency in admissions data, promoting ideological neutrality and freezing tuition costs.
Universities without a deal are making internal sacrifices to avoid concessions and oversight from the Trump administration. Stanford University announced a $140 million budget cut, the University of Southern California laid off more than 900 employees and Johns Hopkins University created internal university funded grants to offset federal disruptions.
At the NU Faculty Assembly on Oct. 15, a resolution passed — with 595 for, four against and eight abstentions — to oppose capitulation to the federal government’s compact.
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