Columbia University’s Deal With the Trump Administration Draws Mixed Reactions
“While the administration extracted a lot of meaningful concessions, maybe all it could, most of those concessions involve Columbia agreeing to follow the law, which it already is obligated to do.”
As we mentioned in a recent Quick Take, Columbia University has agreed to pay upwards of $200 million in damages for discriminating against Jewish students over the last two years, unlocking the federal funding that had been withheld by the Trump administration.
This development has drawn praise from some higher education critics, but many people on the progressive left are positively gobsmacked about it, claiming that it sets a chilling precedent.
Inside Higher Ed reports:
Columbia Deal a ‘Threat’ to Higher Ed, Experts Warn
The Trump administration’s landmark settlement with Columbia University threatens the institution’s independence and academic freedom, higher education experts say. Many warn that the agreement marks a threat not only to higher education, but also to democracy at large.
The agreement, announced Wednesday, comes after Columbia faced months of intense pressure from the White House to address alleged antisemitism on campus and agree to a number of demands. It’s the latest example of how this administration is pushing the boundaries of its authority to secure changes that conservatives have long sought in higher ed.
In the end, Columbia agreed to comply with the government’s extensive demands while forking over more than $200 million to unlock $400 million in federal grants…
But some higher education faculty, legal experts and free speech advocates say the settlement is unlawful, pointing to the quick investigation, vague allegations and unprecedented way federal funds were retracted before Columbia had a chance to appeal. Some went as far as to compare the executive actions to past power grabs by authoritarian leaders in countries like Hungary, Turkey and Brazil.
Columbia’s capitulation “represents the upending of a decades-long partnership between the government and higher education in which colleges and universities nevertheless retained academic freedom, institutional autonomy and shared governance,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. “It signals a rise in authoritarian populism in which higher education is positioned as the enemy in a fight against corrupt, inefficient and elite institutions that are out of touch with the needs of the working class.”
The Washington Times highlighted some of the positive reactions:
Education Secretary Linda McMahon hailed the agreement as a “roadmap for elite universities that wish to regain the confidence of the American public,” and she wasn’t alone.
Former Harvard President Lawrence Summers called the deal “an excellent template for agreements with other institutions,” including Harvard, which has rejected the Trump administration’s overtures…
The former Treasury secretary under President Clinton said that he could quibble with the details but added that the agreement reached Wednesday “may be the best day that higher education has had in the last year.”
The Anti-Defamation League praised the deal as an “important next step in fighting antisemitism and hate on their campus, along with restoring federal funding needed for critical research.”
Our own Professor Jacobson is quoted extensively in the article. He suggests that the left should actually see this as a win:
Cornell Law School Professor William Jacobson disagreed with the “Columbia capitulated” argument, calling the deal “a ‘win’ for Columbia at several levels.”
“While the administration extracted a lot of meaningful concessions, maybe all it could, most of those concessions involve Columbia agreeing to follow the law, which it already is obligated to do,” he said in an email.
“The financial penalty Columbia is paying is large by any standard, but certainly manageable for a university that size, and a lot of it is recouped by regaining the grant funding,” he added.
He said left-wing faculty should be encouraged – and antisemitism foes should be concerned – by the provision explicitly protecting hiring decisions from federal interference.
“Without a rebalancing of the faculty, the culture at Columbia cannot change,” said Mr. Jacobson, who runs the conservative Legal Insurrection blog. “So if I’m looking at this from the perspective of Columbia, particularly the radical faculty, this is a win.”
If nothing else, this deal between Columbia and the Trump administration has put the higher education community on notice. The behavior we saw on college campuses in the months that followed the October 7th attacks will no longer be tolerated. There will be real consequences for schools that continue down that road.
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Comments
I’m disappointed. Given its radical progressive history they should burn this place down to the ground leaving the radical out of touch socialist/communist anti-western antisemitic faculty and administrators no place to hide. As it is nothing will change, Columbia is banking on the election of more dramacrats and is just biding its time as are the vast majority of the rest of them.
I agree.
I think the imposition of at least a one-year probationary period would have been wise, to evaluate whether this despicably corrupt, subversive, discriminatory and Islamofascist/Muslim supremacist cesspool is in compliance with federal laws and is generally acting in good faith with regard to its Jewish students and faculty. If compliance was found, a gradual restoration of federal funding and grants might be appropriate, pending continued evaluations and cooperation.
I agree with the commenter on Twitter who stated that it is not a profound concession to have Columbia promise (without sincerity or credibility) to adhere to longstanding federal anti-discrimination laws that it has heretofore brazenly flouted and violated.
I applaud #47 and his administration for at least tackling the problem, but, I am wary of this settlement.