Cornell University will pay $60 million to the Trump administration and adopt federal interpretations of civil rights law after authorities restored more than $1 billion in suspended research funding. The Ivy League institution agreed on Friday to remit $30 million over three years to resolve outstanding allegations and invest an additional $30 million in agricultural research.
Federal agencies had accused the university of racial discrimination in admissions, financial aid, and campus programming under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Cornell becomes the fourth Ivy League school to settle with the administration after Pennsylvania, Brown, and Columbia reached similar agreements.
University President Michael I. Kotlikoff emphasized the importance of maintaining the research partnership with Washington while stating the settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing. Cornell will now align its practices with the position that any race-based considerations in university operations violate discrimination prohibitions.
Federal agencies had accused the university of racial discrimination in admissions, financial aid, and campus programming under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Cornell becomes the fourth Ivy League school to settle with the administration after Pennsylvania, Brown, and Columbia reached similar agreements.
University President Michael I. Kotlikoff emphasized the importance of maintaining the research partnership with Washington while stating the settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing. Cornell will now align its practices with the position that any race-based considerations in university operations violate discrimination prohibitions.
