Columbia fires 180 staffers after federal funding cuts

Columbia University has fired 180 staffers after the Trump administration cut $400 million in federal funding from the New York City Ivy League school. University officials announced the terminations on Tuesday. 

The letter announcing the changes from Acting President Claire Shipman and Provost Angela V. Olinto said that the research infrastructure "will be running lighter footprints." The letter said that the school is "engaged in a two-pronged effort related to the grants terminated by the federal government."

"Columbia's leadership continues discussions with the federal government in support of resuming activity on these research awards and additional other awards that have remained active, but unpaid. We are working on and planning for every eventuality, but the strain in the meantime, financially and on our research mission, is intense," it read.

Those who were let go were, per the letter as shared by NBC, "working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants." Officials said that these workers are about 20% of the staff that were funded by the grants that were cut.

"We do not make these decisions lightly," said the letter. "We are deeply committed, at Columbia, to the critical work of invention, innovation and discovery."

Columbia's interim president stepped down in March after the Trump administration announced plans for the funding cuts. The reason for the cuts was a result of Columbia's allowance of antisemitic protests and campus occupations following the October 7, 2023 terror attacks on Israel.

Some foreign students who participated in these activities have been slated for deportation and those cases are working their way through the courts. Other students have opted to leave the country on their own rather than face proceedings. 

After announcing the cuts, the Trump administration announced a list of conditions under which the school could attempt to regain or reapply for federal funding. These included enforcing existing disciplinary policies, including abolishing the University Judicial Board and centralizing discplinary processes under the office of the president. 

The demands included that the Middle East, South Asian and African Studies department must be placed into Academic Receivership for no less than five years. "The University must provide a full plan, with date certain deliverables, by the March 20, 2025 deadline."

The school was also told to "deliver a plan for comprehensive admissions reform." This must "include a strategy to reform undergraduate admissions, internal recruiting, and graduate admissions practices to conform with federal law and policy."

Columbia gave in to many of the demands.