Northwestern University has reached a settlement with the U.S. government, agreeing to a $75 million payment to conclude several investigations and reinstate substantial federal research funding. This agreement was made with the Trump administration’s involvement.

Previously, President Donald Trump’s administration had halted $790 million in grants, a move that led to staff layoffs at the university and the September resignation of Northwestern’s president, Michael Schill. The administration’s decision was based on claims that the university had inadequately addressed antisemitism issues.

Per the settlement announced on Friday evening, Northwestern will pay the amount to the U.S. Treasury over a period of three years. Additionally, the university is required to nullify the Deering Meadow agreement. This agreement, signed in April 2024, was initially reached to end a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on campus.

Throughout the discussions, interim university president Henry Bienen declared that Northwestern maintained its autonomy over essential academic decisions such as hiring, admissions, and curriculum. “I would not have signed this agreement without provisions ensuring that is the case,” he asserted.

The university is also tasked with adhering to federal anti-discrimination laws as part of the agreement. Furthermore, they must create training resources to help international students assimilate with the campus culture of open discussion and debate. The commitment to Title IX is reinforced, promising safe and equitable opportunities for women, including the provision of single-sex housing, as well as all-female sports, locker rooms, and showering facilities, for any woman who requests these accommodations.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the deal cements policy changes that will protect people on campus 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,” McMahon said.

Trump has leveraged government control of federal research money to push for reforms at elite colleges he has decried as overrun by “woke” ideology.

The fine agreed to by Northwestern is the second-largest behind Columbia, which agreed in July to pay the government $200 million to resolve a series of investigations and restore its funding. Brown and Cornell also reached agreements with the government to restore funding following antisemitism investigations.

Harvard, the administration’s primary target, remains in negotiations with the federal government over its demands for changes to campus policies and governance. The Ivy League school sued over the administration’s cuts to its grant money and won a court victory in September when a federal judge ordered the government to restore federal funding, saying the Trump administration “used antisemitism as a smokescreen.”

This fall, the White House tried a different approach on higher education, offering preferential treatment for federal funds to several institutions in exchange for adopting policies in line with Trump’s agenda. The administration received a wave of initial rejections from some universities’ leadership, citing concerns that Trump’s higher education compact might supplant academic freedom.

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