Columbia University agrees to pay more than $220M in deal with Trump to restore federal funding

NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University has reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay more than $220 million to the federal government to restore federal research money that was canceled in the name of combating antisemitism on campus, the university announced Wednesday.

Under the agreement, the Ivy League school will pay the $200 million settlement over three years to the federal government, the university said. It will also pay $21 million to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty, acting University President Claire Shipman said.

The administration pulled the funding, because of what it described as the university’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus during the Israel-Hamas war that began in October 2023.

Columbia then agreed to a series of demands laid out by the Republican administration, including overhauling the university’s student disciplinary process and adopting a new definition of antisemitism. Wednesday’s agreement codifies those reforms, Shipman said.