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This story was updated at 9:30 a.m. April 9 to reflect a statement from Cornell University.
The Trump administration is freezing more than $1 billion in federal funds at Cornell University and $790 million at Northwestern University—the latest colleges to see their federal grants and contracts threatened, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing anonymous officials.
The affected funds will include money from the Agriculture, Defense, Education and Health and Human Services Departments. The Times didn’t say why those universities were losing the money aside from noting that both institutions are facing civil rights investigations related to alleged antisemitism on campus. In recent weeks, Northwestern has sought to highlight its efforts to combat antisemitism, which include policy changes and mandatory antisemitism training for students, faculty and staff.
However, the administration can’t legally pull funding from colleges for civil rights violations until after a lengthy process that’s supposed to include notice to Congress and the opportunity for judicial review. Still, the Trump administration has used other avenues—which some experts say are illegal and are the subject of legal challenges—to cut off money. They include tapping a task force to investigate colleges and targeting their grants and contracts. The task force is currently reviewing Harvard University’s federal funding, which totals $9 billion, and has demanded several changes in order for the college to continue receiving money.
“This was wrong last week, it is wrong this week, and it will be wrong next week,” said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education.
Jon Yates, a Northwestern spokesman, said the university learned via the media about the freeze, which would affect “a significant portion of our federal funding.”
“The University has not received any official notification from the federal government,” Yates wrote in an email to Inside Higher Ed. “Federal funds that Northwestern receives drive innovative and life-saving research, like the recent development by Northwestern researchers of the world’s smallest pacemaker, and research fueling the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. This type of research is now at jeopardy. The University has fully cooperated with investigations by both the Department of Education and Congress.”
Cornell officials said late Tuesday that they also hadn’t received notice from the federal government that would confirm the $1 billion freeze. But the Department of Defense did send the university more than 75 stop-work orders on projects “related to research that is profoundly significant to American national defense, cybersecurity, and health.”
“We are actively seeking information from federal officials to learn more about the basis for these decisions,” the Cornell officials wrote. “Cornell is a land-grant university that serves New York state and the nation. The university has worked diligently to create an environment where all individuals and viewpoints are protected and respected. We are committed to working with our federal partners to continue the contributions made by our scientists and scholars.”
The American Jewish Committee on Tuesday warned the Trump administration against making dramatic cuts to universities’ funding, adding that such a step should be a last resort.
Colleges That Have Lost Federal Funding So Far:
- Brown University—$510 million
- Columbia University—$400 million
- Cornell University—more than $1 billion
- University of Pennsylvania—$175 million
- Princeton University—$210 million
- Northwestern University—$790 million
