Cornell University reaches US$60 million deal with Trump administration to restore federal funding

Students outside Goldwin Smith Hall at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York, In April 2023. The Trump administration has reached a multimillion-dollar deal with Cornell University to restore more than $250 million in federal funding for the school. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File via CNN Newsource)

The Trump administration has reached a multimillion-dollar deal with Cornell University to restore more than US$250 million in federal funding for the school.

Cornell is expected to pay the federal government $30 million over three years, according to the text of the agreement. The school is also expected to invest $30 million in “research programs that will directly benefit US farmers through lower costs of production and enhanced efficiency.”

Under the deal, which is effective Friday, the university has also agreed to provide the federal government with “anonymized undergraduate admissions data.” That data, the agreement says, will be “subjected to a comprehensive audit by the United States.”

Cornell will also conduct “annual surveys to evaluate the campus climate for Cornell students, including the climate for students with shared Jewish ancestry,” the agreement says, among other provisions.

In return, the federal government is expected to immediately restore all terminated federal funding and close all pending civil rights and other investigations into the school.

Friday’s announcement marks the latest development in the Trump administration’s broader battle over campus oversight, federal funding and academic freedom.

The White House previously reached financial settlements with other Ivy League universities, including Columbia University and Brown University, though a recent agreement with the University of Virginia did not include a financial component. Unlike Columbia’s deal, Cornell will not be subject to an independent monitor ensuring compliance.

Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff heralded “good faith discussions” with the Trump administration and noted that the agreement “acknowledges the government’s commitment to enforce existing anti-discrimination law, while protecting our academic freedom and institutional independence.”

In April, the administration took aim at Cornell’s federal research funding, citing what an official described as “ongoing, credible, and concerning Title VI investigations,” referring to a federal statute that prohibits discrimination in programs and activities that receive federal funding.

In a letter to the Cornell community announcing the deal, he acknowledged the acute financial pressure that the administration’s funding freeze had placed on his university.

“The months of stop-work orders, grant terminations, and funding freezes have stalled cutting-edge research, upended lives and careers, and threatened the future of academic programs at Cornell,” Kotlikoff wrote.

The White House, meanwhile, touted the agreement as a “major win.”

“President Trump has once again delivered a major win for American students with this Cornell University deal,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston said.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon praised the deal for targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “The Trump Administration has secured another transformative commitment from an Ivy League institution to end divisive DEI policies,” she said.

By Betsy Klein, CNN