Another elite university has agreed to pay a fine to the Trump administration in order to have its federal funding unfrozen. Back in March, the Education Department sent letters to 60 universities, threatening to cut off funding, citing alleged antisemitism stemming from campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza and other issues.
Northwestern University (NU) on Friday agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury Department $75 million through 2028. In exchange, the agreement restores federal grants that had been temporarily frozen and allows the university to apply for future federal grants, contracts and awards.
The university was at risk of losing $790 million. When the potential funding cut was made public in April, NU spokesperson Jon Yates said that the federal money the school receives supports innovative life-saving research, such as the world’s smallest pacemaker and efforts to fight Alzheimer’s disease.
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What’s in the agreement?
Under the broad terms of the agreement, NU is required to “adhere to federal anti-discrimination laws.” Aside from its allegations of antisemitism, the administration had also taken aim at the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives.
“Today’s settlement marks another victory in the Trump Administration’s fight to ensure that American educational institutions protect Jewish students and put merit first,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Institutions that accept federal funds are obligated to follow civil rights law — we are grateful to Northwestern for negotiating this historic deal.”
Other provisions featured in the agreement include mandatory antisemitism training for students, faculty and staff; concrete guidelines regarding campus protests; transparency around NU’s financial commitments; rolling back promised support for Muslim, Middle Eastern, North African and Palestinian students; an integration process for international students that centers “inquiry and open debate;” and compliance with Title IX standards such as single-sex housing accommodations for women and a ban on trans women in female sports and sporting facilities.
‘Not an admission of guilt’
In exchange for these concessions, NU expects to see its funding be “fully restored” within 30 days, while some funding is expected to resume “within days,” the university’s interim president, Henry Bienen, said in a statement Friday. The Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services will also cease all ongoing investigations into the university.
“By reaching this agreement, we preserved Northwestern’s unique environment for research that advances human understanding, improves lives in myriad ways and makes us one of the world’s great universities,” Bienen wrote. “This is not an agreement the University enters into lightly, but one that was made based on institutional values.”
According to The Daily Northwestern, Bienen said that the agreement is “not an admission of guilt.” He added in a video also published Friday, “I would not have signed anything that would have given the federal government any say in who we hire, what they teach, who we admit or what they study.”
Northwestern is not alone
Northwestern’s $75 million fine is second only to Columbia University, which agreed to pay the Trump administration $200 million in July.
In early November, Cornell University announced that it would pay $60 million to settle similar allegations. Brown University has also agreed to pay the administration to stop investigations and unfreeze federal funding, while the University of Pennsylvania agreed to change the records for a transgender swimmer at the school.
The administration has also launched investigations into Harvard University, the University of California, Los Angeles, Princeton University and Duke University. Throughout President Donald Trump’s second term in office, such investigations have paused more than $4 billion in federal education funding.
In a statement released Friday, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon described the agreement as a “huge win” for both the Northwestern community and higher education nationwide.
“The reforms reflect bold leadership at Northwestern and they are a roadmap for institutional leaders around the country that will help rebuild public trust in our colleges and universities,” McMahon said.
Bienen, meanwhile, said that the university is looking to the future.
“We must now refocus on what matters most: advancing our mission, upholding the highest standards of academic and institutional excellence, and empowering students and scholars to drive change in the world through research and innovation,” Bienen wrote. “As we move ahead, we will do so with purpose and conviction, speaking boldly for the values that define Northwestern, especially in moments of adversity.”
