NEW YORK 鈥 Columbia University agreed Friday to put its Middle East studies department under new supervision and overhaul its rules for protests and student discipline, acquiescing to an extraordinary ultimatum by the Trump administration to implement those and other changes or risk losing billions of dollars in federal funding.
As part of the sweeping reforms, the university will also adopt a new definition of antisemitism and expand 鈥渋ntellectual diversity鈥 by staffing up its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, according to a聽聽published Friday by the interim president, Katrina Armstrong.
The announcement drew immediate condemnation from some faculty and free speech groups, who accused the university of caving to President Donald Trump's largely unprecedented intrusion upon the school鈥檚 academic freedom.
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鈥淐olumbia鈥檚 capitulation endangers academic freedom and campus expression nationwide,鈥 Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a聽group of 35 pro-Palestinian students, faculty members, legal observers, journalists and activists filed a lawsuit against the University of California, Los Angeles, over that school's handling of last year鈥檚聽聽against the聽.

FILE - Student protesters gather inside their encampment on the Columbia University campus, April 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, File)
Columbia changes detailed
Earlier this month, the Trump administration聽聽in research grants and other funding over the university鈥檚 handling of protests against Israel鈥檚 military campaign in Gaza. As a precondition to restoring those funds 鈥 along with billions more in future grants 鈥 federal officials last week demanded the university immediately enact nine separate reforms to its academic and security policies.
In her response Friday, Armstrong indicated Columbia would implement nearly all of them. As ordered, it will hire new public safety personnel and empower them to make arrests on campus, bar students from protesting in academic buildings and revamp its long-standing process for student discipline.
Students will no longer be permitted to wear face masks on campus 鈥渇or the purposes of concealing one鈥檚 identity.鈥 An exception would be made for people wearing them for health or religious reasons.
The university will also appoint a new senior provost to review the leadership and curriculum of several international studies departments to 鈥渆nsure the educational offerings are comprehensive and balanced.鈥
The appointment appeared to be a concession to the Trump administration's most contentious demand: that the university place its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under 鈥渁cademic receivership for a minimum of five years.鈥

FILE - Using a tactical vehicle, New York City police enter an upper floor of Hamilton Hall on the Columbia University campus in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, after the building was taken over by protesters earlier in the day. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
The Trump administration repeatedly accused Columbia University of letting antisemitism go unchecked at protests against Israel that began at the university last spring and quickly spread to other campuses 鈥 a characterization disputed by those involved in the demonstrations.
In her letter, Armstrong said the university had worked hard to 鈥渁ddress the legitimate concerns raised both from within and without our Columbia community, including by our regulators, with respect to the discrimination, harassment, and antisemitic acts our Jewish community has faced.鈥
鈥淭he way Columbia and Columbians have been portrayed is hard to reckon with,鈥 she added. 鈥淲e have challenges, yes, but they do not define us.鈥
The Trump administration ratcheted up its attacks on Columbia in recent weeks, thrusting the campus into crisis and sparking fears of additional reprisals at colleges across the country.
On March 8, federal immigration officials arrested聽聽a prominent Palestinian activist and legal permanent resident in his university-owned apartment building 鈥 the 鈥渇irst of many鈥 attempted deportations, according to Trump.
Justice Department leaders say they also are investigating whether Columbia聽聽sought by the U.S. over their roles in the demonstrations.

FILE - Demonstrators gather on the UCLA campus after nighttime clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
UCLA sued over handling of protests
The lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles comes days after the Trump administration joined a separate聽聽against the university by Jewish students and a Jewish professor accusing it of failing to protect them from pro-Palestinian activists.
The demonstrations at UCLA became part of a movement last spring at campuses nationwide against the Israel-Hamas war. Last month, the Trump administration opened聽听颈苍迟辞听聽at Columbia University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University.
UCLA was repeatedly roiled by protests and the way administrators were handling the situation.
The tensions culminated the night of April 20 when a group of counterprotesters began violently dismantling a pro-Palestinian encampment.
The lawsuit says UCLA failed to protect the demonstrators when dozens of people, some in white masks and some draped in Israeli flags and armed with fireworks, hammers, baseball bats and other weapons, attacked the encampment while the loud sound of crying babies played on the jumbotron.
Several protesters were injured during the attack, which happened after private security left and police had not yet arrived, the lawsuit says.
鈥淓ncampment members witnessed the mob鈥檚 extreme violence, threats of violence, and UCLA鈥檚 failure to intervene,鈥 it says. 鈥淭hey saw people get their heads split open, suffer from open wounds and concussions, scream in pain and fear, with fireworks and mayhem all around them.鈥
The university did not immediately respond Friday to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Los Angeles Police and California Highway Patrol officers聽聽on May 1 and 2 as the camp was cleared.
The episode led to the reassignment of the聽聽and creation of a new campus safety office. A subsequent attempt to set up a new camp was also blocked.
The lawsuit also names the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Highway Patrol and 20 people it describes as members of a 鈥渕ob.鈥 It seeks monetary damages for physical and psychological injuries suffered by the protesters.

FILE - Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather inside a building on the UCLA campus, May 23, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)
Last June, three Jewish students and a Jewish professor sued the university saying it allowed pro-Palestinian protesters to block them from accessing classes and other parts of campus. The students alleged they experienced discrimination on campus during the protests because of their faith and that UCLA failed to ensure access to campus for all Jewish students.
A federal judge ruled in a preliminary injunction last year that the university cannot allow pro-Palestinian protesters to block Jewish students from accessing classes and other parts of campus.
On Monday, the Trump administration filed a brief supporting the Jewish students and professor in their case against UCLA.
鈥淒OJ has thrown down the gauntlet: if university administrators aid and abet mistreatment of Jews, they will pay the price,鈥 said Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and an attorney for the students and professor. 鈥淭his is a wake-up call for every university that allows antisemitic hatred to fester unchecked. No Jewish student or professor should ever again face this kind of terror on their own campus.鈥
While Trump made Columbia the most visible target of his crackdown on higher education, he put other universities on notice that they will face cuts if they do not embrace his agenda.
His administration announced聽聽for their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. It also suspended approximately聽聽for the University of Pennsylvania over a transgender swimmer who last competed for the school in 2022.
On Friday, free speech groups warned Columbia鈥檚 response to Trump's threat would reverberate far beyond the Manhattan campus.
"Shaking under government pressure, Columbia crumbled," said Tyler Coward, the lead counsel for government affairs at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. 鈥淚f Columbia 鈥 with its immense resources and influence 鈥 can鈥檛 stand up to government demands that threaten free speech, what are other colleges to do?鈥
Gaza war protests ignite on US college campuses

A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers during a pro-Palestinian occupation at the campus' Alumni Park on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Demonstrators chant at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Texas state troopers in riot gear try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A row of Palestinian flags are seen on the fence at the pro-Palestinians demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

State troopers try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of college campuses following last week's arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A demonstrator is restrained by police at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

State troopers on horses push back protesters during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A Georgia State Patrol officer detains a protester on the campus of Emory University during a pro-Palestinian demonstration Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia State Patrol officers detain a protester on the campus of Emory University during an pro-Palestinian demonstration Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Authorities detain a protester on the campus of Emory University during a pro-Palestinian demonstration, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Protesters are cuffed after being detained on the campus of Emory University during a pro-Palestinian demonstration Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A police officer detains a protester on the campus of Emory Univeristy during an pro-Palestinian demonstration, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Student protestors erected approximately 20 tents on Parrish Beach by Clothier Hall at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa. on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers during a pro-Palestinian occupation at the campus' Alumni Park on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers during a pro-Palestinian occupation at the campus' Alumni Park on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protesters fight with University Public Safety officers as they try to remove tents at the campus' Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protesters carry a tent around Alumni Park on the University of Southern California to keep security from removing it during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protesters carry a tents around Alumni Park on the University of Southern California to keep security from removing them during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protesters carry a tents around Alumni Park on the campus of the University of Southern California to keep security from removing them during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A University of Southern California protester, right, confronts a University Public Safety officer at the campus' Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protesters push and shove University Public Safety officers as tempers get heated during a pro-Palestinian occupation on the University of Southern California campus Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A woman is arrested at a pro-Palestinan protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Texas state troopers in riot gear try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Signs are displayed on tents at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

People sit outside tents at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A Palestinian flag is displayed at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

State troopers try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Pro-Palestinian protesters face off with mounted state troopers at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Students participate in a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A pro-Palestinian protester walks past pro-Israel protesters at the University of Texas Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A woman raises a fist during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A woman is arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Tents erected at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

University of Texas police officers arrest a man at a pro-Palestinian protest on campus, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A makeshift camp supporting the Palestinians cause is staged on the UCLA campus, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

University of Southern California protester raises an anti war sign in Alumni Park on the campus of the University of Southern California during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Student protesters hold up sheets as others pray at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A pro-Palestinian protester faces off with state troopers at the University of Texas Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Cally, a former UT student, faces off with a mounted state trooper at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A woman is arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

New York police officers move towards an entrance to Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that student protesters began occupying in the morning. (AP Photo/Julius Motal)

Members of the New York Police Department strategic response team move towards an entrance to Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that student protesters began occupying in the morning. (AP Photo/Julius Motal)

Members of the New York Police Department strategic response team move towards an entrance to Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that student protesters began occupying in the morning. (AP Photo/Julius Motal)

Students watch from their residence hall windows as members of the New York Police Department strategic response team move towards an entrance to Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that student protesters began occupying in the morning. (AP Photo/Julius Motal)

Students with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment block the entrance of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University after taking over it on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 in New York. Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine called for mobilization close to midnight. Students have been occupying part of campus since April 17, calling for the university to divest from institutions that have ties to Israel. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)

Members of the New York Police Department strategic response team escort protesters from Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that student protesters began occupying in the morning. (AP Photo/Julius Motal)

Members of the New York Police Department strategic response team load arrested protesters from Columbia University onto a bus, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that student protesters began occupying in the morning. (AP Photo/Julius Motal)

Members of the New York Police Department strategic response team load arrested protesters from Columbia University onto a bus, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that student protesters began occupying in the morning. (AP Photo/Julius Motal)

A police bus loaded with protesters arrested at Columbia University departs an entrance to the campus on 114th Street, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that student protesters began occupying in the morning. (AP Photo/Julius Motal)