Columbia University has agreed to pay the US government $200 million in a settlement over what the Trump administration called a wave of anti-Semitism on campus and a “violation of federal law”.
The embattled university has faced pressure from the administration over protests at its New York campus in 2023, at the start of Israel’s war in Gaza, and 2024. An encampment on the university’s main lawn for almost two weeks drew international attention.
Columbia will pay the settlement over three years. In exchange, the university said in a statement, the federal government will unlock “billions in current and future grants”.
It was one of the first universities targeted by the administration over alleged anti-Semitism on campus amid protests against the Israel-Gaza war. In March, the Trump administration froze funding to several high-profile universities.
Columbia said in its statement that the settlement codifies a set of reforms it announced in March, including a review of several of its Middle East studies programmes and identification of students who participate in protests on campus.
Only one month after taking office for his second term as president, Donald Trump led a charge against Columbia, and eventually several other Ivy League and top-tier American universities, to block government grants on the pretext that it was in breach of laws against discrimination applicable to universities that receive federal funding.
Mr Trump called the settlement a “penalty”, on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, and said the school had been “violating federal law”.
He also said Columbia will pay “over $20 million to their Jewish employees who were unlawfully targeted and harassed”.
Columbia does not admit to wrongdoing, but “the institution’s leaders have recognised, repeatedly, that Jewish students and faculty have experienced painful, unacceptable incidents, and that reform was and is needed”, the university said in its statement.
Last week, Columbia announced it will adopt a controversial definition of anti-Semitism set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance that has also been adopted by Harvard and NYU.
The “working definition” is accompanied by various examples of anti-Semitism, including “applying double standards” to the conduct of the state of Israel or “claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavour”.
Student protesters and members of the Arab and Muslim communities on campus have alleged discrimination, harassment and doxxing by the university or its affiliates based on their political views and personal backgrounds.
This week, the Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition, a collective of student groups engaged in pro-Palestine actions, filed a lawsuit against the university alleging a violation of due process and “overstepping their jurisdiction to censor pro-Palestinian speech”.
The university said in its statement that the agreement with the federal government “preserves Columbia’s autonomy and authority”. Its response to the threats from the Trump administration over several months has drawn a backlash and claims of capitulation.
Acting president Claire Shipman, the third head of the university since 2023, said in a message to the Columbia community on Wednesday that the lack of federal funding to the school “would jeopardise [its] status as a world-leading research institution”.
“Following the law, attempting to resolve a complaint, is not capitulation,” Shipman said in a video statement released by the university in June. She had said Columbia would move to restore its government funding “if possible”.
By contrast, fellow Ivy League university Harvard took the US government to court in proceedings that began this week.
On Wednesday, the State Department launched an investigation into whether Harvard should remain eligible to sponsor international student visas.
“Visa sponsorship is a privilege, and sponsors whose conduct tarnishes our nation’s interests will lose that privilege,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
