Cornell University agreed to pay $30 million to the Trump administration to immediately restore millions in federal funding and settle ongoing federal investigations into the Ivy League school’s response to antisemitic incidents on campus.
The school also agreed to invest $30 million on agricultural and farming technology programs, and to submit undergraduate admissions data to the administration and comply with foreign funding reporting requirements, among other stipulations.
Cornell’s deal with the White House makes it the third Ivy League school to reach an agreement with the Trump administration to reinstate millions in frozen federal research grants and contracts.
In April, Cornell said it received more than 75 stop work orders from the Department of Defense related to research on national defense, cybersecurity and health. The Trump administration at the time said it had frozen about $1 billion in federal cash and contracts with the school.
“The decades-long research partnership between Cornell and the federal government is critical to advancing the university’s core mission and to our continuing contributions to the nation’s health, welfare, and economic and military strength,” Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said in a letter to campus Friday. “This agreement revives that partnership, while affirming the university’s commitment to the principles of academic freedom, independence, and institutional autonomy that, from our founding, have been integral to our excellence.”
In 2023, a series of violent, antisemitic messages populated an online message board, including a threat to shoot up the university’s kosher and multicultural dining room, which is next to the Center for Jewish Living building.
State authorities and the FBI were investigating the threats, including one that said, “If you see a Jewish ‘person’ on campus follow them home and slit their throats.”
Cornell was not found in violation of Title VI, the federal law that bars discrimination based on race, shared ancestry or national origin, according to the letter. The government has also agreed to close all of its investigations and reviews.
“The government has further agreed to restore terminated federal grants, release all withheld funds for active grants, and consider Cornell fully eligible for new grants and funding awards, without disadvantage or preference,” Kotlikoff said.
The White House touted its deal as a win for the president and students at the university.
“President Trump has once again delivered a major win for American students with this Cornell University deal,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in a statement. “Under the President’s commonsense leadership, academic excellence, merit, and accountability will continue to be restored across America’s universities.”
