Columbia University agreed on Friday to change the supervision of its Middle East studies department and revise its protest and student discipline rules, months after US President Donald Trump froze $400 million in funding.
After the change in policy, the university will revise its Middle East studies department’s oversight, tighten protest rules, and adopt a new definition of antisemitism to comply with federal demands.
The development came after the Trump administration warned that failure to make these changes could result in further federal funding cuts.
As part of the reforms, the university will also adopt a new definition of antisemitism and increase staff at its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies to promote “intellectual diversity,” according to a letter from interim president Katrina Armstrong.
The decision drew quick criticism from some faculty and free speech groups, who accused the university of giving in to President Donald Trump’s unusual interference in its academic freedom.
“Columbia’s capitulation endangers academic freedom and campus expression nationwide,” Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration pulled $400 million in research grants and other funding over the university’s handling of protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. As a precondition for restoring those funds—along with billions more in future grants—federal officials last week demanded the university immediately enact nine separate reforms to its academic and security policies.
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