Overview
- An Education Department spokesperson said the agreement is not final but that both sides are negotiating in good faith with an announcement expected soon.
- The prospective deal would reinstate roughly $790 million in frozen federal research grants and resolve federal investigations into alleged antisemitism on campus.
- People briefed on the talks told the New York Times the agreement is expected to include a $75 million payment, which would be among the largest assessed to a university in these cases.
- Northwestern has faced months of operational strain since the April freeze, including about 425 staff layoffs and temporary internal support for research that faculty said reached roughly $10 million per week.
- The negotiation follows a series of settlements the administration reached with other elite universities, including Columbia’s $200 million payment and Cornell’s $30 million fine plus $30 million in program investments, while Harvard pursued litigation and had its funding restored.