Columbia U. lays off 180 staff since Trump admin revokes their grants

Columbia University’s getting hit hard. The Ivy League giant’s slashing about 180 jobs this week after the Trump administration pulled the plug on $400 million in federal grants back in March. Why? Because Columbia dropped the ball on protecting Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment. 

Acting President Claire Shipman didn’t sugarcoat it: “Across the research portfolio we have had to make difficult choices and unfortunately, today, nearly 180 of our colleagues who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants, will receive notices of non-renewal or termination.” 

That’s a hefty 20% of the folks tied to those grants, by the way. She’s not done: “In the coming weeks and months, we will need to continue to take actions that preserve our financial flexibility and allow us to invest in areas that drive us forward.” 

Translation? More tough calls are coming, and it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. Shipman admits it’s a “deeply challenging time” for higher ed, and navigating this mess with “precision” is, well, “imperfect at times.” 

Back in March, the feds—DOJ, HHS, Education, and GSA—came down like a ton of bricks, canceling that $400 million.  “The school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” 

Columbia’s response at the time was blunt: “There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care.” That’s a lot of collateral damage.

By April, Columbia was waving the white flag, bending to Trump admin demands to get some of that cash back. They banned masks used to hide identities (good luck enforcing that), gave 36 campus cops new arrest powers, and created a senior vice provost to keep an eye on the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies department, plus the Center for Palestine Studies. Talk about a shake-up.

Shipman says they’re still sweet-talking the feds to restart funding: “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.” 

But with budget cuts looming and federal funding looking shakier than a Jenga tower—especially with talk of slashing reimbursements for “facilities and administration” costs—she’s bracing for impact.

“Increasing budget constraints combined with uncertainty related to future levels of federal funding for research… requires us to make difficult choices,” Shipman said. “We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources. Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard.”

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