American universities on notice: Ed Sec sees Columbia settlement as a 'template'
Columbia University settled a lawsuit with the Trump administration for $221 million after allegations of civil rights violations.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said other universities are already taking measures to confront anti-Semitism on campus.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon is calling Columbia University’s $221 million settlement with the administration of President Donald Trump a blueprint for how other universities should address antisemitism and restore academic integrity.
The deal, which resolves federal civil rights investigations into Columbia’s handling of anti-Jewish harassment during last year’s pro-Palestinian protests, restores the Ivy League school’s access to previously frozen federal research funding.
[RELATED: Columbia trustee demands Title VI compliance in anti-Semitism rebuke]
Columbia will pay $200 million to the Department of Education over the next three years, along with $21 million to settle claims involving Jewish faculty. The university denies wrongdoing but agreed to implement reforms and oversight measures.
”It was a comprehensive agreement that we were able to reach with Columbia,” McMahon said during a Thursday appearance on Morning in America, “and it is our hope that this is going to be a template for other universities around the country.”
McMahon said other universities in the United States are already taking measures to confront anti-Semitism and avoid federal investigations.
The Department of Education launched its investigation into Columbia following widespread reports that the university failed to protect Jewish students in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
[RELATED: Israeli professor resigns from Columbia, cites ‘anti-Jewish hatred’ on campus]
The resulting unrest raised national concerns about the safety and treatment of Jewish students at elite colleges.
Columbia retains control over admissions, hiring, and curriculum under the agreement but must comply with federal oversight and take steps to address discrimination on campus.
The Trump administration has made combating antisemitism in higher education a top enforcement priority and is using the Columbia case to signal stricter accountability for universities that fail to uphold civil rights.