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IBL News | New York
The Trump administration’s deal with Columbia University in New York City has put leaders at Ivy League universities and other college campuses nationwide in a tough spot. Institutions are facing the possibility of seeing research funding paused.
President Donald Trump has made it clear he won’t tolerate a liberal imposition at America’s most prestigious colleges and intends to reshape them accordingly.
On July 23, Columbia University agreed to pay fines of over $220 million and signed on to a list of other concessions related to admissions, academics, and hiring practices.
The White House, which has halted billions in research grants to several schools, said it envisions the Columbia deal as the first of many such agreements.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon called it a blueprint for other institutions to follow.
“Columbia’s reforms are a roadmap for elite universities that wish to regain the confidence of the American public,” Linda McMahon said in a statement.
In addition to Columbia University, other Ivy League schools are striking deals with the Trump administration.
On July 1, the University of Pennsylvania entered into an agreement ending a civil rights investigation brought by the U.S. Department of Education.
In February, the agency accused Penn of violating Title IX, the primary sex discrimination law governing schools, when it allowed Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, to compete in 2022.
As part of the deal, the White House said it would restore Penn’s research funding. In return, the university apologized to cisgender athletes who swam against Thomas. The university also agreed to ban transgender women from sports.
This month, President Trump hinted he believes Harvard University may still be open to coming to a deal.
At Cornell, the government paused more than $1 billion. At Brown, it froze $510 million, and at Princeton, it stopped more than $210 million.
Of the eight Ivy League schools, only two – Dartmouth College and Yale University – have avoided targeted federal funding freezes.
