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Northwestern Agrees to $75M Settlement to Restore $790M in Frozen Federal Research Funding

12:30 PM, 11/29/2025
Northwestern Agrees to $75M Settlement to Restore $790M in Frozen Federal Research Funding

Northwestern will pay $75 million to settle federal probes so roughly $790 million in frozen research funding can be reinstated. The deal ends investigations by HHS, the Department of Education and the DOJ Civil Rights Division into alleged civil-rights and admissions violations. Northwestern preserved control over hiring and admissions, created a trustees committee to oversee compliance, and pledged steps to protect Jewish students and expand certain women's accommodations. The university expects funds to resume within days and be fully restored within 30 days.

Northwestern University has agreed to pay $75 million to the federal government in a settlement with the Trump administration that will allow approximately $790 million in frozen federal research grants and contracts to be reinstated.

The university said the agreement, announced Friday, will end investigations by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education into its compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws. It also will permanently close pending inquiries by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division into alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act related to race and admissions.

In April, the administration froze the research funding while probing the university’s handling of civil rights concerns, including campus responses to antisemitism. Northwestern said it expects federal funds to begin flowing again within days and to be fully restored within 30 days.

“This is not an agreement the University enters into lightly, but one that was made based on institutional values,” said Henry Bienen, Northwestern’s interim president.

Bienen said the university maintained “several hard red lines we refused to cross,” including preserving control over hiring decisions and admissions standards. “Northwestern runs Northwestern. Period,” he added.

Commitments and oversight

As part of the settlement, Northwestern will establish a special committee of its Board of Trustees to monitor compliance with the agreement and to ensure continued adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws. The university also committed to measures aimed at protecting Jewish members of its community.

The agreement includes specific provisions intended to protect opportunities for women on campus, such as offering single-sex housing to women (defined on the basis of sex) who request it, and providing all-female options for sports, locker rooms, and showering facilities where appropriate.

Spokespeople for the White House and the relevant federal agencies were not immediately available for comment.

Former Northwestern president Michael Schill, who resigned in September, testified before a House education panel last year about the university’s response to campus protests. House Republicans criticized his handling of pro-Palestinian encampments; Schill defended his decision to negotiate with protesters while refusing to let encampments remain or to accede to student demands for divestment from companies supporting Israel.

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