‘Will Not Compromise Academic’: Columbia To Trump Admin Over Federal Grants

Columbia is negotiating with the Trump admin to regain $400 million in funding, affirming it won't compromise academic freedom amid criticism over pro-Palestinian protests.

By : ABP Live News | Updated at : 16 Apr 2025 07:50 AM (IST)

Trump has called the protests anti-American and antisemitic, accused universities of peddling Marxism and "radical left" ideology.
Source : PTI

Columbia University said that it was holding “good faith negotiation” with the United States President Donald Trump administration in order to regain federal funding worth $400 million, mostly for medical and other scientific research. This comes hours after Harvard University rejected the administration’s demands to overhaul academic programs or risk losing federal grants.

The Trump administration rebuked several universities, beginning with Columbia, a private New York school, over its handling of the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled campuses the past year after the 2023 Hamas-led attack inside Israel and the subsequent Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to a Reuters report.

On Monday night, Columbia's interim president, Claire Shipman, said while it was in talks with the Trump administration, the school would not compromise its commitment to academic freedom.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, Trump escalated the fight against Harvard University and said that the school could be stripped of its tax-exemption status. He said that the university should apologise a day after the institution rejected what it called unlawful demands to overhaul academic programs or lose federal grants.

ALSO READ: Trump's Fresh Threat To Harvard University After Freezing $2B Funding: 'To Be Taxed As A Political Entity'

Trump has called the protests anti-American and antisemitic, accused universities of peddling Marxism and "radical left" ideology, and promised to end federal grants and contracts to universities that do not agree to his administration's demands, reported Reuters.

Some professors at Columbia University have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that the termination of federal grants violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act as well as their constitutional rights to free speech and due process. In response, a federal judge in New York has directed the administration to file an official reply by May 1.

Despite reading the Harvard president's letter, Columbia's interim president, Shipman, on Monday night said that Columbia will continue "good faith discussions" and "constructive dialog" with the US Justice Department's antisemitism task force.

"We would reject any agreement in which the government dictates what we teach, research, or who we hire," she wrote.

Published at : 16 Apr 2025 07:50 AM (IST)
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