Cornell University struck a settlement with the Trump administration to end federal investigations and unblock more than $250 million in research funding. The agreement requires Cornell to pay $60 million over three years, supply expanded undergraduate admissions data to the Education Department, and use Justice Department guidance on diversity, equity and inclusion as a training resource. President Michael Kotlikoff said the deal reverses grant terminations and stop-work orders that stalled labs and threatened jobs. The settlement closes civil-rights probes by the DOJ, Education and HHS and lets federal agencies resume suspended grants. Cornell’s bargain does not include an admission of wrongdoing but tightens reporting and compliance oversight: quarterly admissions data through 2028 and regular presidential compliance reports. The administration framed the pacts with elite campuses as a model for restoring funding in return for conformity on DEI and admissions transparency. For research-intensive universities, the deal highlights a new bargaining dynamic with the federal government: institutions under investigation face a choice between protracted litigation and negotiated restitution that restores immediate funding but adds compliance obligations. The arrangement also signals to other campuses that the administration prefers negotiated settlements to courtroom losses that could produce precedent.