Cornell University has reached a $60 million settlement with the U.S. government to restore access to federal research funding and conclude investigations into alleged civil rights violations at the Ivy League institution.
In a statement on Friday, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said the university will pay $30 million directly to the federal government and dedicate another $30 million to agricultural and farming research initiatives. The deal reinstates more than $250 million in previously suspended research grants.
Kotlikoff described the agreement as a reaffirmation of Cornell’s “academic freedom, independence, and institutional autonomy,” emphasizing that the resolution allows the university to manage its policies, hiring, and admissions practices without government oversight.
“The decades-long research partnership between Cornell and the federal government is critical to advancing the university’s mission and to our contributions to national health, welfare, and security,” Kotlikoff said. “This agreement revives that partnership while upholding our core principles.”
Under the six-page agreement, Cornell committed to comply with federal civil rights laws, including those addressing antisemitism and racial discrimination. The university will use the Department of Justice’s guidance on unlawful discrimination in its faculty and staff training and will continue to conduct annual campus climate surveys.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi called the deal a “positive outcome” and said it reflects the administration’s stance that federal funding recipients must ensure their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs do not violate civil rights protections.
US Academic Funding Freeze
The agreement follows the Trump administration’s decision in April to freeze more than $1 billion in funding to Cornell, citing potential civil rights breaches. The suspension was part of a broader federal review of Ivy League universities in response to campus protests and reports of antisemitism that escalated after the October 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict.
The administration said the funding freezes were intended to address what it called a lack of accountability under the previous government.
Kotlikoff acknowledged that the suspension had “stalled cutting-edge research, upended lives and careers, and threatened the future of academic programs” at Cornell.
The university’s partnership with the federal government is expected to resume immediately following the settlement.