Columbia University signals it will comply with Trump administration's demands
Columbia University signaled Wednesday that it would comply with the Trump administration's demands in return for restoring $400 million in federal funding, saying it would "engage in constructive dialogue with our federal regulators."
Columbia University signaled Wednesday that it would comply with the Trump administration's demands in return for restoring $400 million in federal funding, saying it would "engage in constructive dialogue with our federal regulators."
The Trump administration canceled the university's federal grants this month, accusing it of "inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” And last week, the administration sent a letter to the university laying out nine demands Columbia must commit to by the end of business hours on Thursday "as a precondition" to restore federal funding.
The university's interim president, Katrina Armstrong, responded Wednesday that Columbia will "not waver from our principles and the values of academic freedom." She also appeared to suggest that the university will comply with the administration's demands.
"Legitimate questions about our practices and progress can be asked, and we will answer them," Armstrong wrote in a letter posted on the university's website. "But we will never compromise our values of pedagogical independence, our commitment to academic freedom, or our obligation to follow the law."
"We will also continue — as is our responsibility and as we have done throughout our history — to engage in constructive dialogue with our federal regulators, including on the work we are doing to address antisemitism, harassment, and discrimination, the tangible progress we are making, and the intensity of our commitment to this ongoing work," she added.
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