Overview

• Harvard is reported to be negotiating a roughly $500 million payment to the Trump administration in exchange for restoring frozen federal research funding and ending a civil-rights investigation into campus antisemitism.
• Earlier this summer, Columbia agreed to pay over $200 million and Brown committed $50 million in donations for similar deals that included policy reforms and federal oversight provisions.
• Critics—including more than 800 faculty members, over 14,000 alumni and Democratic officials such as Gov. Gavin Newsom—warn that the settlement could set a precedent for political leverage over university governance.
• Last week, a federal judge ordered restoration of at least part of the $550 million in grants paused at UCLA, offering a legal alternative to negotiated settlements.
• Observers note that federal demands now span detailed admissions data reporting, strict gender-policy compliance and potential patent seizures, signaling a broader expansion of government influence on campus decision-making.