Cornell University has agreed to pay $60 million and comply with the Trump administration’s interpretation of civil rights law to end multiple federal investigations and regain access to more than $250 million in frozen research funding.
Announced Friday by Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, the agreement concludes months of scrutiny from Washington over the Ivy League institution’s diversity and inclusion policies as well as its handling of antisemitism and free expression on campus.
The six-page agreement requires Cornell to follow federal directives that restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and to use a Justice Department memo ordering colleges to abandon “transgender-friendly” policies as a training resource for faculty and staff. Cornell must also turn over detailed admissions data to demonstrate that race is no longer considered in admissions decisions, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling striking down affirmative action.
In exchange, the government will lift all funding holds and close pending investigations. “The government has further agreed to restore terminated federal grants, release all withheld funds for active grants, and consider Cornell fully eligible for new grants and funding awards, without disadvantage or preference,” Kotlikoff said in a statement.
The deal includes $30 million in direct payments to the U.S. government and another $30 million toward agricultural research to support U.S. farmers. Kotlikoff emphasized that the resolution “revives the campus’ partnership with the federal government 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.”
The Trump administration has aggressively pursued investigations into elite universities, accusing some of ignoring federal law or failing to address antisemitism on campus. Education Secretary Linda McMahon hailed the Cornell agreement as a “transformative commitment” that advances “merit, rigor, and truth-seeking,” calling it “a huge win in the fight to restore excellence to American higher education.”
Cornell’s deal—effective through 2028—is one of several recent university settlements with the administration, joining similar but less costly pacts at the University of Virginia, Brown, and Columbia.
