The federal government has frozen over $1 billion in funding for Cornell, according to members of the Trump administration. This comes amid Title VI investigations of Cornell by the U.S. Department of Education.
The move follows the slashing of more than $3.3 billion in federal funding from several Ivy League universities, including Columbia, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown and Princeton. The Trump administration also froze $790 million in funding for Northwestern, according to The New York Times.
Cornell receives both federal and state funding for its research and grants for students. The freezing of Cornell and Northwestern’s funding from the federal government will primarily involve grants and contracts with the departments of agriculture, defense, education and health and human services, The New York Times reported.
A Monday evening statement from Cornell administrators explained that the University was “aware of media reports suggesting that more than $1 billion in federal grants have been frozen” but had “not received information that would confirm this figure.”
However, Cornell saw more than 75 stop work orders from the Department of Defense on Monday related to Cornell research “that is profoundly significant to American national defense, cybersecurity, and health,” according to the statement.
The ED Office for Civil Rights sent a letter on Feb. 14 to Cornell and other federally funded educational institutions, ordering the dissolution of “racial preferences” and other University race-conscious decisions. The ED highlighted in the letter that universities could potentially lose federal funding if they did not comply within 14 days.
Following the initial letter, the OCR announced the opening of an investigation of Cornell and 44 other universities under Title VI. The OCR explained that the investigations came amid allegations that the universities violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by working with The Ph.D. Project — which “purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants,” according to the OCR.
Cornell was also one of 60 schools sent letters from the ED on March 10, warning the universities to “fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus” or see “enforcement actions.”
The March 10 letter was sent to universities that were under investigation for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.
Administrators ended the Monday statement by highlighting that Cornell has worked to create an environment on campus where all viewpoints and individuals are “protected and respected.”
“We are committed to working with our federal partners to continue the contributions made by our scientists and scholars,” the Monday statement reads.
Update, April 8, 11:39 p.m.: The article was updated to include a statement from President Michael Kotlikoff, Provost Kavita Bala and Provost of Medical Affairs Dr. Robert Harrington.
Update, April 9, 12:30 a.m.: The article was updated to add details about another ongoing civil rights investigation against Cornell.
Matthew Kiviat is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is the assistant managing editor for the 143rd Editorial Board and was a news editor for the 142nd Editorial Board. He can be reached at mkiviat@cornellsun.com.
