Northwestern University will pay $75 million to the US government to resolve multiple federal investigations and regain access to hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants that the Trump administration had suspended. The agreement, announced Friday night, ends a months-long standoff that had strained the university’s finances and contributed to the September resignation of former president Michael Schill.
Federal officials had frozen $790 million in grants, arguing that Northwestern failed to adequately address antisemitism on campus. The funding halt triggered layoffs and pushed the institution into a deeper crisis. Under the deal, the university will make the payment over three years and roll back several commitments made during a tense period of campus protest.
A key requirement forces Northwestern to revoke the Deering Meadow agreement, which it reached with pro-Palestinian demonstrators in April 2024 to end a tent encampment. Interim president Henry Bienen said the university protected its autonomy throughout the negotiations. “I would not have signed this agreement without provisions ensuring that is the case,” he said.
The settlement also compels the university to strengthen compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws and develop training materials to “socialize international students” to campus norms around open debate. It further reaffirms obligations under Title IX by “providing safe and fair opportunities for women, including single-sex housing for any woman, defined on the basis of sex, who requests such accommodations and all-female sports, locker rooms, and showering facilities”.
US education secretary Linda McMahon said the agreement codifies reforms designed to protect students and staff from harassment and discrimination. “The reforms reflect bold leadership at Northwestern and they are a roadmap for institutional leaders around the country that will help rebuild public trust in our colleges and universities,” she said.
The Trump administration has increasingly used federal research funding as leverage to pressure elite universities into policy changes, accusing them of embracing “woke” ideology. Northwestern’s penalty is the second-largest to date, following Columbia University’s $200 million settlement in July. Brown and Cornell have also reached agreements with the government after investigations tied to antisemitism.
Harvard remains locked in negotiations. The university sued after its grant money was cut, and a federal judge ruled in September that the administration had “used antisemitism as a smokescreen” to justify the funding freeze.
This fall, the White House shifted tactics, offering preferential access to federal funds for schools willing to adopt policies aligned with Trump’s agenda. Several universities rejected the proposal, warning that the compact risked undermining academic freedom.
Northwestern’s settlement marks one of the most significant outcomes yet in the administration’s pressure campaign, restoring critical research funding while forcing the university to unwind earlier concessions made during a turbulent year.
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