Trump forces Columbia, Brown to share race data in $200M settlement for research funding

Columbia agreed on July 23, 2025, to pay $200 million to the federal government over three years plus $21 million to the EEOC, totaling $221 million, restoring access to roughly $1.3 billion in frozen research grants

Brown agreed on July 30, 2025, to no direct payment to the government but committed $50 million in grants to ⚓Rhode Island workforce organizations over 10 years; the government reimbursed Brown for more than $50 million in withheld grant costs

Both settlements require annual submission of admissions data for every applicant — accepted and rejected — broken down by race, color, GPA, and standardized test scores

The settlement language bars both universities from using any proxy for racial admission, including personal statements or diversity narratives that might indirectly factor in race

Neither university admitted wrongdoing under the settlements

Brown settlement additionally requires adopting Trump executive-order definitions of male and female for athletics, housing, and programming, and bans gender-affirming care for minors on campus

Education Secretary McMahon on August 7, 2025, ordered all U.S. colleges to submit race-disaggregated admissions data covering 2025-26 and the five prior academic years

Columbia suspended or expelled nearly 80 students for involvement in Gaza-related protests as part of its campus-safety commitments under the settlement