Cornell University reaches agreement with Trump administration to restore federal funding

Olympia [Washington], November 8: Cornell University, one of the eight schools in the Ivy League, announced Friday that it has reached an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to restore federal funding, with a payment of 30 million U.S. dollars over three years directly to the U.S. government.
"Since April of this year, Cornell has been subject to more than 250 million dollars in federal funding interruptions, which have disrupted the research of faculty and students across all campuses. Today I write to share that Cornell has reached an agreement with the federal government to immediately restore and continue the university's research funding," Michael I. Kotlikoff, president of Cornell University, said in a statement.
"The agreement explicitly recognizes Cornell's right to independently establish our policies and procedures, choose whom to hire and admit, and determine what we teach, without intrusive government monitoring or approvals," said Kotlikoff, noting that the university will make admissions and hiring decisions based on merit.
Pursuant to the terms of this agreement, the university will invest 30 million dollars over three years in research to strengthen U.S. agriculture and help build even more successful and productive farms.
Cornell will also pay an additional 30 million dollars over three years directly to the U.S. government "as a condition for ending pending claims that have been brought against the university," the statement said.
"Cornell shall provide the United States with anonymized undergraduate admissions data ... broken down by Cornell's individual colleges and schools, race, grade point average, and performance on standardized tests, on a quarterly basis," according to the agreement.
Admissions data will also be subject to a comprehensive audit by the United States, it noted.
The duration of this agreement will be from Friday to Dec. 31, 2028.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon celebrated the agreement on social media platform X.
"The Trump Administration has secured another transformative commitment from an Ivy League institution to end divisive DEI policies," said McMahon, referring to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. "U.S. universities are refocusing their attention on merit, rigor, and truth-seeking - not ideology."
In March, the Trump administration announced an investigation into antisemitism at 60 U.S. universities, including Cornell University. In April, the Trump administration said it was freezing more than 1 billion dollars in planned federal research funding to the university.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January, the U.S. government has required a number of prominent domestic universities to adjust their policies, including eliminating "antisemitism" and abolishing admissions policies favoring minority groups.
Universities that fail to make these adjustments may face funding cuts. Columbia University, Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania have previously announced agreements with the federal government, while some other universities are still negotiating with the government.
Source: Xinhua News Agency