
Northwestern University will pay $75 million to resolve a seven-month-old federal anti-discrimination probe that froze at least $790 million in funding to the institution, according to a deal announced Friday.
Northwestern agreed to implement mandatory antisemitism training for students and staff and void a deal it reached with pro-Palestinian students in 2024 to end their encampment, the resolution states.
In that arrangement with student activists, campus leaders had pledged to provide full-ride scholarships to five Palestinian undergraduates and hire “two Palestinian faculty per year for two years.” One of the pro-Palestinian professors hired as part of that deal has since been accused of anti-Israel bias.
Moving forward, the Chicago-based university must also “maintain clear policies and procedures relating to demonstrations, protests, displays, and other expressive activities,” the Justice Department stated.
“Republicans have accused Northwestern of not doing enough to address antisemitism during campus protests over the war in Gaza, and [President Michael] Schill faced a difficult hearing on Capitol Hill last year over whether the school had adequately protected Jewish students,” the New York Times reported.
As part of the agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice, Education Department, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Northwestern will also end underage transgender treatments at its Feinberg School of Medicine.
The med school “shall not perform hormonal interventions and transgender surgeries, including but not limited to mastectomies, phalloplasties, vaginoplasties, and/or any other procedure intended to alter an individual’s sex characteristics, on any individual under the age of 18 years old,” the deal states.
Northwestern has also been in the hot seat recently for its deal with Qatar, which effectively forbids criticism of the Qatari regime. As part of the deal with the feds, the university will take a closer look at international students who seek to enroll and consider steps to “decrease financial reliance on foreign student admissions or partnerships with foreign entities.”
As part of the settlement, Northwestern expressly denied any liability regarding the allegations.
“Federal funding for the University is expected to be fully restored within 30 days. Some terminated federal grants will not be reinstated, as those ‘were not specific to Northwestern,'” the Daily Northwestern reported.
MORE: Northwestern defends hiring pro-Palestinian professor as part of encampment deal

