Columbia University Controversy: Funding Cuts and Settlement

The Columbia University controversy began with pro-Palestinian protests in the spring of 2024 and grew into a federal civil rights case, the cancellation of roughly $400 million in research funding, and a $221 million settlement with the Trump administration in July 2025 that reshaped the university’s leadership, discipline policies, and academic oversight. What follows is what happened, in the order the pieces fit together, and where things stand now.

What Sparked the Controversy

On April 17, 2024, students set up a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on Columbia’s South Lawn, demanding the university divest from companies tied to Israel. The encampment went up the same day President Minouche Shafik testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce about campus antisemitism.¹

The next day, Shafik authorized the NYPD to clear the camp, and 108 people were arrested. Protesters rebuilt a smaller encampment within hours. Two weeks of failed negotiations followed. On April 29, Shafik announced Columbia would not divest and gave students an ultimatum to leave. Early on April 30, protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, barricaded the entrances, and renamed it “Hind’s Hall.” That night, hundreds of NYPD officers in riot gear entered the building through a second-story window using an armored vehicle with a mechanized drawbridge, and made 109 more arrests.¹²

The events drew visits from members of Congress on both sides, and a campus rabbi advised Jewish students to return home, citing safety concerns tied to what he described as extreme antisemitism.¹

Congressional Scrutiny and Leadership Turnover

At the April 17 hearing, Chairwoman Virginia Foxx accused Columbia of “gross negligence” on antisemitism. Lawmakers pressed Shafik on specific incidents, including an October 2023 assault of an Israeli student and a March 2024 campus event featuring speakers linked to the PFLP, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Board of Trustees co-chair Claire Shipman told the committee Columbia’s systems “were not equipped” to manage the crisis, and co-chair David Greenwald reported 90 disciplinary measures had been taken against students since October 2023.³

Shafik resigned on August 14, 2024, less than a year into her presidency, citing the “period of turmoil.” Dr. Katrina Armstrong, the dean of the health sciences faculties, was named interim president.⁴⁵

Days before Shafik’s departure, three deans overseeing undergraduate student affairs resigned after a congressional committee published text messages they had exchanged during a May 2024 panel on Jewish life. The messages disparaged Jewish students’ concerns about antisemitism. Vice Dean Susan Chang-Kim wrote that students’ complaints came “from such a place of privilege.” Associate Dean Matthew Patashnick suggested Jewish students were trying to “take full advantage of this moment. Huge fundraising potential.” Dean of undergraduate student life Cristen Kromm replied with vomiting emojis and wrote, “Amazing what $$$$ can do.” Columbia’s president said the messages “touched on ancient antisemitic tropes.”⁶

The Trump Administration Cancels $400 Million

On March 7, 2025, the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism cancelled approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts through the Department of Justice, HHS, the Department of Education, and the General Services Administration. The agencies cited Columbia’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students” and called it the “first round,” noting Columbia held more than $5 billion in total federal grant commitments.⁷

On March 13, 2025, the administration sent interim president Armstrong a letter of conditions for restoring the money. The demands included a protest mask ban, strict rules governing demonstrations, expulsion or multiyear suspensions for students involved in the encampment and Hamilton Hall takeover, and placing the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS) department into receivership for at least five years.⁸⁹

On March 21, 2025, Columbia reached a preliminary agreement with the White House committing to new protest restrictions, a curriculum review of Middle East studies, 36 new campus police officers, a face-covering ban, and a review of admissions policies.¹⁰ The university did not accept full receivership for MESAAS. Instead it appointed a senior vice provost to oversee the department and set up a review committee, a step described as coming “in line with the administration’s desire” without formally surrendering departmental autonomy.¹¹

Title VI Finding and Accreditation Warning

On May 22, 2025, HHS and Department of Education civil rights investigators formally found that Columbia had violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, concluding the university had acted with “deliberate indifference” toward harassment of Jewish students beginning October 7, 2023.¹²

The 19-month investigation, which drew on witness interviews, media reports, and Columbia’s own Task Force on Antisemitism, found that Jewish students hid their identity, avoided campus, and mapped routes to class to avoid being “yelled at, spit on, accused of committing genocide, or threatened.” Investigators documented repeated swastika graffiti in Hamilton Hall that cleaning staff reported but the university never investigated, and found that university employees were assaulted and targeted with antisemitic slurs during the April 2024 building occupation. The agencies called Columbia’s response “clearly unreasonable.”¹³

On June 4, 2025, the Department of Education notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Columbia’s accreditor, that the Title VI violation meant Columbia “no longer appears to meet the Commission’s accreditation standards.”¹⁴ The commission placed Columbia on warning status that month. On March 12, 2026, it reaffirmed the university’s accreditation and found it back in compliance. Columbia must submit a monitoring report by September 2026, and its next full evaluation is scheduled for the 2033–34 academic year.¹⁵

The $221 Million Settlement

On July 23, 2025, Columbia and the Trump administration announced a settlement resolving the federal investigations. Columbia agreed to pay $200 million to the federal government over three years and an additional $21 million to settle an EEOC investigation into workplace harassment of Jewish and Israeli employees. In return, the university regained access to most of its frozen research funding, which had grown to roughly $1.3 billion in grants and contracts.¹⁶

The agreement required Columbia to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, appoint antisemitism coordinators, hire new faculty with joint positions in the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, and create a liaison to support Jewish students. It also required the university to implement merit-based admissions and hiring practices barring the use of race, color, sex, or national origin as preferences, and to eliminate programs promoting “race-based outcomes, quotas, or diversity targets.”¹⁶

Columbia made no admission of wrongdoing. The agreement established an independent resolution monitor to oversee compliance and an arbitration process for future disputes. The university stated the agreement “preserves Columbia’s autonomy and authority over faculty hiring, admissions, and academic decision-making.”¹⁷

The $21 million EEOC fund covers employees who worked at Columbia between October 7, 2023, and July 23, 2025, and who assert claims of harassment based on Jewish religion, Jewish race, or Israeli national origin. Individuals may receive up to $300,000, with claims due by June 2, 2026.18

Where Compliance Stands

Columbia released its first semi-annual compliance report on April 1, 2026. Of the agreement’s 23 provisions, 18 were classified as “complete” or “satisfied to date” and five as “in progress.” The university paid its first $66.67 million installment of the $200 million settlement and fully funded the $21 million EEOC claims pool. It appointed Jim Glover, a dean at the Climate School, as resolution administrator, relocated the judicial board to the Office of the Provost, removed students from the board, and hired a new Title VI coordinator in March 2026.¹⁹

Still in progress: the review of MESAAS and other regional studies programs, joint hiring for the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, an admissions data audit by the monitor, and creation of a student liaison for Jewish life. Beginning in fall 2026, all Columbia schools will require students to sign attestations committing to “civil discourse, free inquiry, equality, respect, and lawful conduct.”²⁰

The independent monitor is Charles J. Cooper of Cooper & Kirk, who replaced an earlier appointee, Bart Schwartz, in January 2026 over billing and cost concerns.²¹

Academic Freedom Backlash

The settlement drew sharp opposition from faculty and civil liberties groups. Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor emeritus of modern Arab studies, withdrew from teaching a large Middle East history course in fall 2025. In an August 2025 open letter, he said Columbia’s adoption of the IHRA definition made it “impossible with any honesty to teach” about the creation of Israel or the displacement of Palestinians, called the settlement a “capitulation,” and warned that the monitor’s broad access to campus and disciplinary proceedings would push faculty and students to “constrain their speech.” Columbia disagreed, stating its policies “would not have prevented him from teaching his class.”²²²³

In August 2025, Columbia’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors released an “Academic Freedom in the Classroom” statement, and more than 100 faculty members committed to including it in their syllabi. Faculty called the deal a “backroom” arrangement and said the IHRA definition had created confusion over what could be taught.²⁴ The NYCLU, in a public letter, called the administration’s original demands an “intrusion into the academic freedom of the university” that violated principles articulated in the 1957 Supreme Court case Sweezy v. State of New Hampshire.⁹

An academic boycott expanded through 2025. By mid-April, roughly 2,000 individuals and more than 75 organizations had signed on, pledging to refuse participation in Columbia academic events and decline collaborations with administrators.²⁵

Student Discipline and Group Derecognition

By July 2025, nearly 80 students had been expelled, suspended for up to three years, or had degrees revoked for their involvement in protests, including a May 2025 disruption of Butler Library and the spring 2024 encampment.²⁶

Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition of over 80 student groups including Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, was formally derecognized in July 2025 under a policy barring groups that “promote violence or encourage disruptions.”²⁷ In November 2025, a student-run Palestine Olive Harvest Festival was cancelled hours before it began because of a perceived link between the organizers and CUAD, though CUAD was not involved. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sent Columbia a letter in February 2026 arguing the cancellation infringed on students’ freedom of association.²⁸

Private Lawsuits

Alongside the federal case, Columbia faced private litigation from Jewish students and families of October 7 victims.

In April 2024, a second-year Jewish student identified as “C.S.” filed a class action alleging Columbia fostered a hostile environment, citing rhetoric such as “Go back to Poland!” and “The 7th of October will be every day for you.” The case settled in June 2024. Columbia agreed to hire a “Safe Passage Liaison,” maintain a 24/7 escort program, and provide processes for retrieving belongings and making up missed coursework during campus lockdowns.²⁹

A separate suit, Students Against Antisemitism, Inc. et al. v. The Trustees of Columbia University, brought by StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice and other plaintiffs, ended in a confidential settlement announced on February 27, 2026, under which Columbia committed to additional antisemitism programming and scholarships for students connected to Israel.³⁰

A third case, Haggai et al v. Kiswani et al, was filed March 24, 2025, by nine U.S. and Israeli citizens who were victims of the October 7 Hamas attack. The complaint, brought under the Antiterrorism Act, alleges CUAD and Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine functioned as a “propaganda arm” for Hamas. According to Reuters, plaintiff Shlomi Ziv, a rescued hostage, stated that his captors displayed footage of Columbia protests to demonstrate support for Hamas. The named defendants are individual student leaders and student organizations. Columbia University itself is not a defendant. The case remains active, with defendants yet to file a response.³¹³²

Financial and Enrollment Effects

The controversy affected Columbia’s finances and reputation. During the October 2024 “Giving Day” fundraiser, donations fell nearly 29 percent compared to 2022, dropping from $30 million to $21.4 million, and individual gifts declined from 19,229 to 13,870. Robert Kraft, a Columbia alumnus and the namesake of the university’s football field, publicly said in April 2024 he was “not comfortable” continuing to support the school.³³

Although most of the frozen $400 million was restored after the July 2025 settlement, a subset of grants in areas the White House disfavored, including transgender health research, remained suspended. The School of Public Health and medical center entered “austerity mode,” delaying hires and cutting PhD slots.³⁴

Undergraduate applications for the class of 2029 held roughly steady at 59,616, slightly down from 60,248 the prior year.³⁵ Columbia admitted its largest-ever first-year class of 1,806 in summer 2025, more than 20 percent larger than the previous year, then scaled back further expansion plans after backlash from faculty, students, and alumni. Students reported overcrowded dining halls and libraries, and early decision applications for the class of 2030 showed a slight decline.³⁶

New Leadership

On January 25, 2026, Columbia announced that Jennifer Mnookin, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, would become Columbia’s next president on July 1, 2026. Board co-chairs David Greenwald and Jeh Johnson described her as a “thoughtful consensus builder” known for “building trust through listening and engagement.” Mnookin said she aimed to “advance the University’s critically important mission.” She has not publicly addressed the antisemitism controversy or the federal settlement. Claire Shipman, the Board of Trustees co-chair who testified before Congress in April 2024, is serving as acting president until Mnookin takes office.³⁷³⁸⁸

1
Columbia Spectator. Timeline: The Gaza Solidarity Encampment
2
NPR. Columbia University Gaza Protests
3
U.S. House of Representatives. Columbia in Crisis: Hearing Transcript
4
Columbia University. Announcement From President Minouche Shafik
5
Higher Ed Dive. Minouche Shafik Resigns Columbia University
6
NPR. 3 Columbia Deans Resign Over Texts That Touched on Antisemitic Tropes
7
Department of Justice. DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA Announce Initial Cancelation of Grants and Contracts Columbia University
8
New York Times. One Year After Trump’s $400 Million Ultimatum, a Different Columbia
9
NYCLU. Letter: Trump Admin Ultimatum to Columbia University Violates Free Speech, Academic Freedom
10
CNN. Columbia University Policies Funding Dispute
11
Columbia Spectator. Following Federal Scrutiny, Columbia Review Committee Moves to Reshape Middle Eastern Studies
12
HHS. OCR: Columbia Violates Federal Civil Rights Law
13
HHS. OCR Joint Notice of Violation to Columbia
14
Department of Education. Department of Education Notifies Columbia University’s Accreditor of Title VI Violation
15
Columbia Spectator. Middle States Commission on Higher Education Reaffirms Columbia’s Accreditation
16
NPR. Columbia Trump Administration Settlement Details
17
Columbia University. Federal Resolution Agreementa>
18
Columbia Spectator. EEOC Launches Claims Process for $21 Million Settlement Fund
19
Columbia Spectator. In First Report on Active Compliance With Trump Deal
20
Columbia University. Semi-Annual Report Columbia University Resolution Agreement
21
Columbia Spectator. Lawyer Who Argued for State Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Named New Independent Monitor
22
The Guardian. Columbia Historian Rashid Khalidi Trump
23
Columbia Spectator. Rashid Khalidi on Why He Left Columbia
24
Columbia Spectator. Faculty Insert AAUP Academic Freedom Statement Into Class Syllabi
25
New York Times. Columbia University Boycott Trump
26
Al Jazeera. Columbia University Suspends, Expels Nearly 80 Students Over Gaza Protests
27
Columbia Spectator. Columbia Adopts New Definition of Antisemitism
28
FIRE. Columbia University Administration Uses Guilt by Association to Cancel Palestine Olive Harvest
29
Columbia Spectator. Columbia Reaches Settlement in Class Action Suit
30
Columbia University. Kasowitz and Columbia University Announce Settlement of Lawsuit
31
Reuters. Lawsuit Says Palestinian Advocates at Columbia University Further Hamas Propaganda
32
Columbia Spectator. Families of October 7 Victims Claim Columbia Student Organizations Are Hamas’ Propaganda Arm in Lawsuit
33
CBS Austin. Columbia University Donations Plunge Nearly 29%
34
New York Times. Columbia Trump Federal Money Returned
35
Time. Columbia Admissions Students Enrollment Political Controversy
36
Columbia Spectator. Shrouded in Secrecy, Columbia Scales Back Undergraduate Expansion Plans
37
Columbia University. Columbia University Names Jennifer L. Mnookin President-Designate
38
New York Times. Columbia President Wisconsin Mnookin