Princeton University
In a concerning development for research institutions nationwide, Princeton University has become the most recent Ivy League school to have federal funding suspended amid what many academic leaders are describing as an unprecedented federal pressure campaign targeting elite universities.
Princeton President Dr. Christopher Eisgruber announced earlier this week that "several dozen" federal research grants from agencies including the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Department of Defense have been halted. While the administration's complete rationale remains unclear, the university is among dozens facing federal investigations into campus antisemitism following pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year.
"We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism," Eisgruber wrote in a campus-wide message. "Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University."
The Department of Energy confirmed it had paused Princeton's funding pending a Department of Education investigation into alleged antisemitic harassment on campus.
This action follows similar funding suspensions at other prominent institutions:
The funding suspensions create significant challenges for research universities, which depend heavily on federal grants. Princeton's president had previously criticized the Columbia funding cuts as "a radical threat to scholarly excellence and to America's leadership in research" in a March essay published in The Atlantic.
Princeton was among 60 universities that received warning letters from the Education Department in March regarding accusations of antisemitism. The department indicated schools could face enforcement actions if they failed to address anti-Jewish bias on campus. Six of the eight Ivy League institutions were included in these warnings.
