The Trump administration unveiled a comprehensive civil rights agreement on Friday involving Northwestern University. This accord mandates the university to allocate $75 million and ensure protection for students and faculty against “race-based admissions practices” and any “hostile educational environment” targeting Jewish students.

In a joint announcement, the Department of Justice, Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services emphasized that the agreement aims to shield Northwestern from “unlawful discrimination.” It requires the university to uphold transparent policies regarding demonstrations, protests, and other expressive activities, alongside instituting mandatory antisemitism training.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi celebrated the settlement as a significant win for the Trump Administration’s efforts to ensure educational institutions prioritize merit and safeguard Jewish students. She stated, “Institutions receiving federal funds must comply with civil rights laws, and we commend Northwestern for reaching this landmark agreement.”

Northwestern University has committed to disbursing the $75 million to the U.S. government by 2028.

The Northwestern University campus located in Evanston. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The new agreement comes after the Trump administration previously secured a $221 million settlement with Columbia University to resolve multiple federal civil rights investigations. That deal includes a $200 million payment over three years for alleged discriminatory practices and $21 million to settle claims of antisemitic employment discrimination against Jewish faculty after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel. 

DOE Secretary Linda McMahon called the Northwestern agreement “a huge win for current and future Northwestern students, alumni, faculty, and for the future of American higher education.”

“The deal cements policy changes that will protect students and other members of the campus from harassment and discrimination, and it recommits the school to merit-based hiring and admissions,” she said in a statement. “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.”

Northwestern directed Fox News Digital to a statement made by university president Henry Bienen reacting to the agreement, saying it would restore hundreds of millions of dollars in critical research funding.

Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated a “historic deal” with Northwestern University on Nov. 28. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“This is not an agreement the University enters into lightly, but one that was made based on institutional values,” Bienen stated. “As an imperative to the negotiation of this agreement, we had several hard red lines we refused to cross: We would not relinquish any control over whom we hire, whom we admit as students, what our faculty teach or how our faculty teach. I would not have signed this agreement without provisions ensuring that is the case.”

Bienen added, “Northwestern runs Northwestern. Period.”

The university president also said the $75 million payment “is not an admission of guilt, but simply a condition of the agreement.” He noted that Northwestern “has not been found in violation of any laws and expressly denies liability regarding all allegations in the now-closed investigations.”

Linda McMahon, U.S. education secretary, called Trump administration’s civil rights agreement with Northwestern “a huge win for current and future Northwestern students, alumni, faculty, and for the future of American higher education.” (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In its statement announcing the agreement, DOJ said federal agencies would close their pending investigations and treat Northwestern as eligible for future grants, contracts and awards.

The Trump administration previously put a freeze on approximately $790 million from Northwestern University and over $1 billion in federal funding from Cornell University over potential civil rights investigations at both prestigious schools.