May 7 (UPI) — Columbia University announced Tuesday it will terminate about 180 researchers as the college negotiates with the Trump administration over $400 million in federal funding that was pulled by President Donald Trump.
“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,” wrote Columbia’s Acting President Claire Shipman in a press release Tuesday.
Shipman further explained the firings affect approximately 20% of Columbia researchers funded by canceled grants.
The layoffs were made amid “a two-pronged effort related to grants terminated by the federal government,” as Shipman said.
“The first prong focuses on our continued efforts to restore our partnerships with government agencies that support critical research,” and the second “is to take action to adjust, and in some cases reduce, expenditures based on current financial realities.”
The Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal funding to the university in March upon its determination that hadn’t responded properly to anti-Semitism on campus.
The stoppage of federal funding has paused several projects at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, as well as at other affiliated organizations.
Shipman said Columbia will be “running lighter footprints of research infrastructure in some areas” as the campus administration seeks “alternate funding sources.”
“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,” she said. “This is a deeply challenging time across all higher education.”
This means in some schools and departments have reduced or stopped activity but remain prepared to reestablish capabilities if support is restored.”
The firings layoffs a list of demands sent by the White House in March as preconditions for consideration of restoration of federal funds, which also includes the placement of the Middle Eastern, South Asian and African studies department under academic receivership and a ban on masks worn except for religious or health reasons, among others.
