According to a report in The New York Times, the Trump administration intends to freeze $1 billion in federal funding to Cornell University.
According to the Ithaca Voice.org, Cornell University leaders responded to the report Tuesday night, saying they have “not received information that would confirm this figure.” But the school’s leaders said that earlier Tuesday, they were sent “more than 75 stop work orders from the Department of Defense related to research that is profoundly significant to American national defense, cybersecurity, and health.”
A $1 billion funding freeze would amount to around 17% of Cornell’s total operating budget, which totaled $5.8 billion for the current academic year.
Cornell is the largest employer in Tompkins County, employing just about 9,100 people according to the Tompkins Chamber.
The investigation by the U.S. Department of Education stems from the school’s handling of on-campus protest criticzing Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza.
