New York: Columbia University announced Wednesday that it has reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay more than USD 220 million to the federal government to restore federal research funding that was cancelled in a move to combat antisemitism on campus.

Under the agreement, the Ivy League institution will pay a USD 200 million settlement over three years. It will also pay USD 21 million to resolve alleged civil rights violations against Jewish employees following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, the White House said.

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

The university had faced the potential loss of billions in federal support, including more than USD 400 million in grants cancelled earlier this year. The Trump administration cited Columbia's failure to curb antisemitism during the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Columbia agreed to a series of reforms demanded by the administration, including an overhaul of its student disciplinary process and the adoption of a contentious federal definition of antisemitism, to be applied in teaching and in a disciplinary panel investigating pro-Palestinian student activists.

Shipman said the agreement codifies the reforms while preserving the university's autonomy, and includes no admission of wrongdoing.

'Columbia's reforms are a roadmap': Trump administration

Education Secretary Linda McMahon hailed the agreement as “a seismic shift” in ensuring accountability at institutions receiving taxpayer funds.

“Columbia's reforms are a roadmap for elite universities to regain public trust by recommitting to truth-seeking, merit, and civil debate,” she said.

The reforms, first announced in March, include reviewing Middle East curricula for balance, appointing new faculty to the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, and ending programs promoting race-based quotas or diversity targets.

Columbia must also report to a federal monitor that its programs do not promote unlawful DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) goals.

Crackdown follows Columbia protests

The agreement follows months of fraught negotiations and unrest. Columbia was an early target of President Donald Trump's crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests and alleged campus antisemitism.

An internal task force found Jewish students had faced verbal abuse, ostracism, and humiliation during spring 2024 demonstrations. While some Jewish students joined the protests, leaders maintain their criticism was aimed at Israel's government, not Jews.

Columbia has seen three interim presidents in the past year, each declaring a need to change the campus climate.

International student scrutiny

The settlement includes new questions for international student applicants regarding their motivations to study in the U.S., and mandates that all students commit to civil discourse.

Columbia also agreed to provide disciplinary information about student visa holders to federal authorities upon request, a move that could ease deportations of protest participants.

On Tuesday, the university announced the suspension, expulsion, or revocation of degrees for more than 70 students involved in a May pro-Palestinian library protest and a previous alumni weekend encampment.

Pressure on Columbia escalated after the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student and protest leader, marking the first detainment in Trump's push to deport non-citizen activists.

Federal agents later searched university housing as part of a Justice Department probe into whether Columbia harboured undocumented immigrants.

Oversight expands to other campuses

Columbia became an early test case for the Trump administration's drive to rein in universities seen as liberal strongholds.

Harvard later defied federal demands and mounted a legal challenge. Meanwhile, USD 2 billion in research funding has been frozen at Cornell, Northwestern, Brown, and Princeton.

In March, USD 175 million was withheld from the University of Pennsylvania over women's sports policies, then reinstated after the school agreed to amend records related to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

Public universities have also come under scrutiny. University of Virginia President James Ryan resigned in June amid a Justice Department DEI investigation. A similar probe began this month at George Mason University.