President Donald Trump celebrated a legal victory on Wednesday after it was announced that Columbia University took a loss.
The university announced that it would pay $221 million in order to settle several civil rights investigations from the Trump administration, as Breitbart News reported.
Trump went so far as to call the win “historic” and the “right” thing for the iconic university to do.
Columbia’s Office of the President issued a statement, saying that they reached an agreement to resolve the “alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws.”
“As part of the resolution, Columbia will pay a $200 million settlement over three years to the federal government. In addition, the University has agreed to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $21 million,” the university president’s office said.
The school, however, was quick to point out what the agreement does NOT do:
“Importantly, the agreement preserves Columbia’s autonomy and authority over faculty hiring, admissions, and academic decision-making.”
The announcement also states that the agreement reinstates a number of federal grants that were terminated in March of this year.
That change alone allows Columbia access to “billions of dollars in current and future grants.”
The agreement said that, “This includes the reinstatement of the majority of grants previously terminated by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services, renewal of non-competitive grants, the release of overdue payments on active, non-terminated grants, and Columbia’s restored eligibility to apply for new federal research funding in the ordinary course.”
Linda McMahon, the Trump administration’s Secretary of Education, called the deal “a seismic shift in our nation’s fight to hold institutions that accept American taxpayer dollars accountable for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.
“Columbia’s reforms are a roadmap for elite universities that wish to regain the confidence of the American public by renewing their commitment to truth-seeking, merit, and civil debate.”
Columbia Board of Trustees Co-Chairs David Greenwald and Jeh Johnson offered up a statement, saying that “Today’s agreement with the federal government affirms Columbia’s unyielding commitment to academic freedom, freedom of expression, and open inquiry.
There also appeared to be a spin reminiscent of the idea that it was part of the university’s plan to make change, saying that the deal, “confirms the changes already underway at Columbia to meaningfully address antisemitism on our campus and allows the University to continue to undertake its transformative research and scholarship.”
