Columbia University has agreed to meet most demands made by the Trump administration last week in a dispute about how the university has responded to campus protests.
Columbia University has agreed to meet most of the demands the Trump administration presented it last week in a simmering dispute about how the university has responded to campus protests along with other matters involving campus operations.
In a document released today, the university outlined the steps it has taken or promised in order to comply with a March 13 letter from the administration detailing nine conditions for its continuing to receive federal funding, including the restoration of $4oo million that had been abruptly canceled over charges of antisemitism.
According to the document, Columbia has agreed to disallow masks that are worn for “the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of University policies or state, municipal, or federal laws.”
In addition, it has hired “36 special officers who will have the ability to remove individuals from campus and/or arrest them when appropriate.”
It also is appointing a new senior vice provost who will have the responsibility to “conduct a thorough review of the portfolio of programs in regional areas across the University, starting immediately with the Middle East.”
The senior vice provost will also review the process for hiring non-tenured faculty and “make recommendations to the President and Provost about any necessary changes, academic restructuring, or investments that will ensure academic excellence and complementarity across all programs in the given academic areas.
