President Donald Trump continues to make progress in the fight against discriminatory “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) policies in American higher education. In the most recent development on this front, Northwestern University signed a $75 million settlement and agreed to the administration’s demands to abolish race-based admissions and hiring policies.
Under the terms of the agreement, Northwestern – long a bastion of woke ideology – will eliminate all DEI policies, and the school’s “President and Chair of the Board of Trustees shall each certify under penalty of perjury each quarter the university’s full compliance with the agreement.” The Trump administration had previously frozen $790 million in federal funds from the school, which will now be restored.
The new agreement also mandates that Northwestern enforce the Title IX ban on men competing in women’s sports and revoke the “Deering Meadow” agreement, which pro-Hamas protesters had pressured university leaders to sign in the Spring of 2024. Amid widespread hostility toward Jewish students and encampments on school grounds, Northwestern agreed under the provisions of the Deering Meadow agreement to fully fund visiting faculty and students from Gaza and establish an “advisory committee” to “divest” from Israel.
The Deering Meadow agreement received backlash from pro-Jewish groups such as the American Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League for caving to the protesters. The page for the agreement has been removed from the university’s website since announcing the new settlement with the Trump administration.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon lauded the university’s decision to work with the administration to end antisemitism and DEI initiatives going forward.
“The Northwestern agreement is a huge win for current and future Northwestern students, alumni, faculty, and for the future of American higher education,” McMahon said. “The deal cements policy changes that will protect students and other members of the campus from harassment and discrimination, and it recommits the school to merit-based hiring and admissions.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi shared similar sentiments. She declared that the settlement was a significant victory to protect Jewish students.
“Today’s settlement marks another victory in the Trump administration’s fight to ensure that American educational institutions protect Jewish students and put merit first,” Bondi said. “Institutions that accept federal funds are obligated to follow civil rights law — we are grateful to Northwestern for negotiating this historic deal.”
As AMAC Newsline previously reported, the Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in federal funding from universities that supported DEI initiatives and allowed antisemitic disruptions on campuses. Along with rescinding $790 million from Northwestern, the administration also froze $400 million for Columbia University, $1 billion for Cornell University, $510 million for Brown University, and $210 million for Princeton University.
Most of those schools have now caved to the administration’s demands and begrudgingly agreed to abolish their discriminatory policies.
In July, Columbia University agreed to pay the administration $221 million in a settlement. The school’s settlement also included a “broader commitment to combating antisemitism.” Cornell University entered a $60 million settlement with the administration last month, and Brown University agreed to a $50 million settlement in July.
While Trump initially took a tough approach toward the schools, he has been gracious once they agreed to end their DEI agendas. “Congratulations to Brown University on the settlement made with the United States Government,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social following that school’s settlement with the administration. “There will be no more Anti-Semitism, or Anti-Christian, or Anti-Anything Else! Woke is officially DEAD at Brown. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The University of Pennsylvania also entered into a resolution agreement with the administration in July that prohibits biological males from participating in women’s sports and even revoked awards given to males who competed in them in the past. The school’s agreement guaranteed that it will abide by Title IX guidance in the future, restore all records and titles to female athletes that were wrongly given to male athletes, adopt biology-based definitions of “male” and “female,” rescind guidance allowing men in women’s sports, and apologize to impacted female competitors.
These victories over left-wing ideology on college campuses are a result of multiple investigations that the Trump administration launched earlier this year.
On March 10, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) named 60 universities under investigation for antisemitism. Just a few days later on March 14, OCR launched additional investigations into 45 universities for allegedly using “racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities,” as well as six universities for “allegedly awarding impermissible race-based scholarships.”
These investigations are in addition to the numerous Title IX investigations that the administration has launched into universities for allowing males to participate in women’s sports and use female spaces. Schools on this list include the University of Pennsylvania, San Jose State University, and Wagner College.
OCR has an active list of investigations that are still open for elementary and secondary schools as well as colleges.
Trump promised on the campaign trail last year that schools that allow and promote discrimination of any kind would face consequences once he was elected to office. His administration is quickly fulfilling that promise, with many investigations still ongoing.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
