As President Trump’s federal government undertook a many-threaded campaign to overhaul American higher education, particularly at the most prestigious colleges, Columbia University found itself at the epicenter.
The site of the first pro-Palestinian encampment on a campus after the start of the Israel-Gaza war, Columbia also became the first university stripped of federal funding over allegations that it had failed to protect Jewish students. In an extraordinary deal with the Trump administration, it clawed back hundreds of millions in research support — but made concessions that some critics view as dangerous precedents.
Read The Chronicle‘s complete coverage of the institution’s protracted struggle with the president here.
'An Impossible Situation'
The university will hand over new details about the prospective students it admits and rejects. Is it laying the groundwork for more-aggressive government intervention?
Q&A
The former president of Harvard sees it as a model for a university he once led.
Mixed Emotions
Faculty and others expressed a mixture of relief and frustration over the deal, under which the university will pay over $200 million to have most of its research funding restored.
'Wider Politicalization'
Under the settlement, the university will conduct a “comprehensive review” of its international-admissions processes and “take steps to reduce its financial dependence” on foreign students.
The Review | Opinion
It bargained with the unfettered expression of ideas.
The Review | Opinion
This sets a dangerous new precedent in how higher ed is regulated.
The Review | Opinion
Columbia’s capitulation proves higher ed can’t save itself.
'A Seismic Shift'
The university said the government would resolve its investigations and restore most of the $400 million in research funding it had stripped from the institution.
Flip-Flop
In a confusing turn of events, the National Institutes of Health told staff that it would free up some frozen funding to the Ivy League campus — then quickly backtracked.
Accreditation
The university isn’t losing accreditation, but the move signals the administration’s latest attempt to ratchet up pressure on Ivy League institutions and accreditors.
'An Assault on Academic Freedom'
A Trump-administration letter calls for tighter disciplinary measures over protests and antisemitism before negotiations on the planned cancellation of $400 million in federal funds can progress.
