Cornell University announced Friday that it has reached a $60 million agreement with the Trump administration to settle longstanding federal probes and unlock blocked research funds.
Under the agreement, Cornell will pay $30 million directly to the U.S. government and allocate another $30 million toward research directed at U.S. farmers. In return, the administration will restore more than $250 million in federal research funding that had been frozen pending investigation. The university has also agreed to comply with the administration’s interpretation of civil-rights laws, including how campuses respond to issues of antisemitism, racial discrimination, and transgender policies.
A statement by Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said the deal “revives that partnership, while affirming the university’s commitment to academic freedom, independence, and institutional autonomy.”
Earlier this year, the Trump administration froze significant funding for Cornell due to concerns over civil-rights compliance and campus climate. Cornell and other elite universities were under scrutiny for how they managed student protests, allegations of antisemitism, and their admissions and diversity practices. With key research grants stalled, Cornell faced increasing financial pressure, including internal budget cuts and hiring freezes.
The restoration of funding will relieve fiscal pressure and allow stalled or delayed research projects to resume. However, the deal carries oversight and policy concessions, which may raise concerns among faculty, students, and alumni about institutional autonomy. The agreement also highlights the growing role of federal oversight in campus civil-rights and speech issues, with potential implications for how other universities negotiate with the federal government in the future.
Key questions remain about how strictly the administration will enforce compliance, how the concessions may affect Cornell’s admissions, diversity, and campus-climate policies, and how faculty, students, donors, and trustees will respond to the trade-offs involved in recovering funding.
