Northwestern pays $75M in Trump administration civil rights settlement
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The Trump administration announced a sweeping federal civil rights settlement with Northwestern University on Friday, requiring the school to pay $75 million and protect students and staff from any “race-based admissions practices” and a “hostile educational environment directed against Jewish students.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement that the agreement was intended to protect the Northwest from “unlawful discrimination” and calls on the university to “maintain clear policies and procedures regarding demonstrations, protests, postings and other expressive activities,” as well as implementing mandatory training on anti-Semitism.
“Today’s settlement marks another victory in the Trump administration’s fight to ensure that America’s educational institutions protect Jewish students and prioritize merit,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “Institutions that accept federal funds are obligated to comply with civil rights law – we are grateful to Northwestern for negotiating this historic agreement.”
Northwestern will pay its $75 million to the United States through 2028.
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Northwestern University campus in Evanston. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The new deal comes after the Trump administration secured a $221 million settlement with Columbia University to resolve several federal civil rights investigations. This agreement includes a payment of $200 million over three years for alleged discriminatory practices and $21 million to settle claims of anti-Semitic employment discrimination against Jewish professors after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel.
DOE Secretary Linda McMahon called the Northwestern agreement “a huge victory for Northwestern students, alumni, current and future faculty, and for the future of American higher education.”
“The agreement solidifies policy changes that will protect students and others on campus from harassment and discrimination, and it recommits the school to merit-based recruiting and admissions,” she said in a statement. “The reforms reflect bold leadership from Northwestern and provide a road map for institutional leaders across the country that will help restore public trust in our colleges and universities.”
Northwestern directed Fox News Digital to a statement made by university President Henry Bienen reacting to the deal, saying it would restore hundreds of millions of dollars in critical research funding.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated a “historic agreement” with Northwestern University on November 28. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“This is not an agreement that the University enters into lightly, but one that was reached based on institutional values,” Bienen said. “As imperative to negotiating this agreement, we had several hard red lines that we refused to cross: We would not relinquish any control over who we hire, who we admit as students, what our professors teach, or how our professors teach. I would not have signed this agreement without provisions ensuring that this is the case.
Bienen added: “Northwest runs northwest. Period. »
The university president also said the $75 million payment “is not an admission of guilt, but simply a condition of the agreement.” He noted that Northwestern “has not been found to be in violation of any law and expressly denies liability for any allegations contained in the now-closed investigations.”
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the Trump administration’s civil rights agreement with Northwestern “a huge victory for Northwestern’s current and future students, alumni, faculty, and the future of American higher education.” (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In its statement announcing the agreement, the DOJ said federal agencies would close their ongoing investigations and treat Northwestern as eligible for future grants, contracts and awards.
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The Trump administration previously froze about $790 million from Northwestern University and more than $1 billion in federal funding from Cornell University for possible civil rights investigations at the two prestigious schools.
