After the Trump administration announced in March that it had revoked $400 million in federal subsidies due to Columbia University’s “failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment,” the Ivy League university said Tuesday that it would let off about 180 employees.
“Across the research portfolio we have had to make difficult choices and unfortunately, today, nearly 180 of our colleagues who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants, will receive notices of non-renewal or termination,” acting Columbia University President Claire Shipman stated. “This represents about 20% of the individuals who are funded in some manner by the terminated grants.
“In the coming weeks and months, we will need to continue to take actions that preserve our financial flexibility and allow us to invest in areas that drive us forward,” she added. “This is a deeply challenging time across all higher education, and we are attempting to navigate through tremendous ambiguity with precision, which will be imperfect at times.”
In early March, Columbia University announced that it had been “notified of federal action from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Department of Education (ED) cancelling $400 million in federal funding to the University.”
“The federal agencies cite ‘the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.’ There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care,” it added.
Then, in an attempt to regain government funds, Columbia University gave in to pressure from the Trump administration in April.
Police officers with additional authority to make student arrests and designate a senior vice provost with extensive powers to manage the Centre for Palestine Studies and the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies department.
In support of continuing work on these research contracts and other awards that have remained active, but unpaid, Columbia’s administration is currently in talks with the federal government, Shipman said.
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“Increasing budget constraints combined with uncertainty related to future levels of federal funding for research, including proposed reductions in facilities and administration (i.e., indirect costs) reimbursements, requires us to make difficult choices,” Shipman stated about the layoffs. “We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources. Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard.”
