The Trump administration is freezing $790 million in federal funding to Northwestern University and more than $1 billion in funding to Cornell University, a White House official told CNN.
”The money was frozen in connection with several ongoing, credible, and concerning Title VI investigations,” a Trump administration official said, referring to a federal statute that prohibits discrimination in programs and activities that receive federal funding.
The New York Times first reported the freeze on Northwestern and Cornell funding.
The move adds to similar actions the administration has taken against several elite universities, either demanding changes to their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, or in connection with their handling of protests against the war in Gaza.
Related article: Federal agencies say Columbia University’s new policies a ‘positive first step’ toward regaining aid.
Cornell is “aware of media reports” about the funding freezing, but has not received information that would confirm the $1 billion figure, it said in a statement. However, the university has received “more than 75 stop work orders from the Department of Defense related to research that is profoundly significant to American national defense, cybersecurity, and health.”
“We are actively seeking information from federal officials to learn more about the basis for these decisions,” the statement said, adding it has “worked diligently to create an environment where all individuals and viewpoints are protected and respected.”
In a statement to CNN, Northwestern University said it also found about the funding freeze from the media and hasn’t “received any official notification from the federal government.”
“Federal funds that Northwestern receives drive innovative and life-saving research, like the recent development by Northwestern researchers of the world’s smallest pacemaker, and research fueling the fight against Alzheimer’s disease,” the statement said. “This type of research is now at jeopardy. The University has fully cooperated with investigations by both the Department of Education and Congress.”
On March 14, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, announced it had opened Title VI investigations into 45 universities, emphasizing it has “reiterated” the schools’ “civil rights obligations to end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.”
Last Friday, Harvard University received a letter outlining policy demands in order to keep $9 billion in federal funding. Some of the requests included the elimination of Harvard’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs and a ban on masks at campus protests, student-run newspaper The Harvard Crimson and other outlets reported.
Brown University also learned last week that $510 million in grant money was at risk as the Trump administration reviewed the university’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies and its response to antisemitism.
Princeton University and Columbia University have also suffered funding losses in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce announced Princeton University would lose nearly $4 million in federal funding for climate research programs.
The funding cuts, tied to a review of grants under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reflect the administration’s effort to scale back support for programs it says do not align with its priorities. They come after the administration announced last week it has suspended research grants totaling $210 million to Princeton University as part of an ongoing investigation into antisemitism on campus.
The revocation of funding has left universities walking on eggshells, desperate to keep much-need funding. Students at Columbia University report a tense mood on campus after being center stage in the Trump administration’s multi-prong fight against protests at colleges around the country last year, including deportation efforts against some international students who took part in the demonstrations.
