Cornell University has reached an agreement with the Trump administration to pay the government a $30 million settlement and invest an additional $30 million in agricultural research in exchange for restoring frozen federal research funding.
The agreement announced Friday makes Cornell the latest institution to reach an agreement with the federal government to resolve an investigation into alleged civil rights violations. The settlement follows similar arrangements at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Brown University and the University of Virginia. The intensity of the discounts varies from university to university, with Columbia University paying the largest amount of $221 million.
Collectively, the institutions have been targeted for a range of alleged violations, including allowing transgender athletes to compete on women’s sports teams, failing to police anti-Semitism on campus during pro-Palestinian protests, and implementing allegedly illegal diversity, equity and inclusion practices as the Trump administration cracks down on transgender initiatives.
Now, the university will immediately restore approximately $250 million in frozen federal research funding. The federal government will also end an ongoing civil rights investigation into Cornell University.
While some schools, including Columbia University, have paid significant deference to the federal government and agreed to overhaul admissions, recruiting and academic programs, Cornell’s deal appears to be relatively limited despite paying $30 million.
Under the agreement, Cornell must share anonymized admissions data broken down by race, GPA and standardized test scores with the federal government by 2028; conduct annual campus climate surveys; and ensure compliance with various federal laws. Cornell also agreed to share with faculty and staff a July memo from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi banning the use of race in recruiting, admissions practices and scholarship programs as a training resource. In addition to paying the federal government $30 million over three years, Cornell will invest $30 million “in research projects that will directly benefit American farmers by reducing production costs and increasing efficiency, including but not limited to the following projects: [artificial intelligence] and robotics,” according to a copy of the agreement.
Cornell leaders view the deal as a positive for the university.
“I am pleased that our good-faith discussions with the White House, Justice Department, and Education Department have resulted in an agreement that recognizes the administration’s commitment to enforcing existing anti-discrimination laws while protecting our academic freedom and institutional independence,” Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff said in a statement. Inside higher education. “These discussions have now come to fruition, allowing us to return to teaching and research with renewed partnerships with federal agencies.”
Education Minister Linda McMahon also posted on X to celebrate the deal.
“The Trump Administration has secured another transformative commitment from the Ivy League to end divisive DEI policies. Thanks to this agreement with Cornell, and the ongoing work of teams at the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, and Education, America’s universities are refocusing their attention on merit, rigor, and truth rather than ideology. These reforms are a resounding victory in the fight to restore excellence in American higher education and make our schools the greatest in the world,” she wrote.
However, some outside observers denounced the settlement as a capitulation to authoritarianism.
“The Trump administration’s corrupt extortion of higher education institutions must end,” Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors, said in a statement that also urged universities to combat federal intrusion.
