Columbia University has agreed to pay $221 million to settle claims by the Trump administration that it failed to adequately address anti-Semitism on campus. The settlement, announced on Wednesday, will see the vast majority of $400 million in federal grants frozen by the Trump administration reinstated. The university will also regain access to billions of dollars in current and future grants.
Under the agreement, Columbia will pay the federal government $200 million over three years, in addition to a $21 million payment to settle claims by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The university has pledged to adhere to anti-discrimination laws, including maintaining merit-based admissions and ending programs that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes, quotas, and diversity targets.
Claire Shipman, Columbia’s acting president, emphasized that while the settlement was substantial, the university could not continue with a situation that would jeopardize its status as a world-leading research institution. “We might have achieved short-term litigation victories, but not without incurring deeper long-term damage – the likely loss of future federal funding, the possibility of losing accreditation, and the potential revocation of visa status of thousands of international students,” Shipman said.
Shipman acknowledged the serious challenges the institution has faced with anti-Semitism, stating, “We know there is still more to do.” The settlement marks a victory in Trump’s efforts to exert greater control over third-level education, including campus activism in support of Palestine and other causes.
Trump hailed the settlement as “historic” in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying, “Numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust, and have wrongly spent federal money, much of it from our government, are upcoming.” However, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a student activist group, slammed the settlement as an effective bribe, saying, “Imagine selling your students out just so you can pay Trump $221 million dollars and keep funding genocide”.
The controversy began following protests against the war in Gaza in 2023, when some Jewish students reported harassment and intimidation. Critics accused the university of ignoring these problems, while pro-Palestinian advocates have accused critics of often wrongly conflating opposition to Israel with hatred of Jews. As part of the settlement, Columbia will submit to a federal monitor who will report on the university’s progress every six months.
The agreement also follows the expulsion of nearly 80 students who participated in pro-Palestine protests on campus, with sanctions exceeding precedent for non-Palestine-related demonstrations. This move has sparked debate about free speech and the university’s handling of campus activism.