Cornell to Pay $30M to Trump Administration in Settlement Over Campus Antisemitism

Cornell University agreed Friday to pay $30 million to the Trump administration to resolve federal investigations and immediately restore millions in frozen research grants following antisemitic incidents on campus.

As part of the deal, Cornell will also invest $30 million in agricultural and farming technology programs, submit undergraduate admissions data to the administration, and comply with foreign funding reporting requirements.

This agreement makes Cornell the third Ivy League school to resolve disputes with the administration and regain access to previously frozen federal research funding.

In April, the university received over 75 stop work orders from the Department of Defense affecting research in national defense, cybersecurity, and health. At the time, the Trump administration froze roughly $1 billion in federal grants and contracts with Cornell.

“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. “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.”

The settlement follows a 2023 wave of violent, antisemitic online threats, including one targeting the university’s kosher and multicultural dining room near the Center for Jewish Living. Threats included instructions to harm Jewish students on campus. Federal and state authorities, including the FBI, investigated.

The federal government has agreed to close all investigations and restore all withheld grants, making Cornell fully eligible for new funding without disadvantage.

“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 added.

The White House hailed the settlement as a victory for both the president and Jewish students at Cornell. “President Trump has once again delivered a major win for American students with this Cornell University deal,” said White House spokesperson Liz Huston. “Under the President’s commonsense leadership, academic excellence, merit, and accountability will continue to be restored across America’s universities.”