Yet another blow to Columbia University’s autonomy happened this month, the potential revoking of Columbia’s accreditation by the U.S. Department of Education – Office for Civil rights. This follows the current administration’s termination of Columbia University’s federal funding and grants, followed by the revoking of visas for foreign students. The intent of the federal government is clear, continued pressure for Columbia University to reform. Why? Is Columbia receiving a wake-up call for its ultra progressive leaning to the detriment of a centrist view by most Americans or perhaps its abysmal last place ranking by FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Express) for the lack of protection of free speech on campus?
According to the federal government “On May 22, 2025, the Department of Education’s OCR and Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil rights (HHS OCR) determined that Columbia University acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish Students, thereby violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, OCR and HHS OCR found that Columbia failed to meaningfully protect Jewish students against severe and pervasive harassment on Columbia’s campus and consequently denied these students’ equal access to educational opportunities to which they are entitled under the law.”
These existential threats to Columbia University are not new and, in fact, similar actions by the federal government occurred after the student uprising of 1968 when radical students and activists occupied Hamilton Hall and held Columbia College Dean Harry Coleman hostage. Columbia University President Grayson Kirk resigned leaving a power vacuum that an Ad Hoc Faculty Group then used to become the arbitrator between the radical students and the administration. The Ad Hoc Faculty Group lost credibility by seeking to push an anti-establishment/progressive agenda. An emergency all-faculty meeting was called, and the outcome was a newly formed Executive Committee of the Faculty (ECOF) with 10 members comprising of 4 liberals, 4 conservatives, a highly respected senior member of the faculty, and an attorney. The ECOF did something unheralded; they sought outside expert help to assess the current situation and make recommendations for corrective action. The Cox Commission was created with seasoned executives, none of whom had any direct ties to Columbia University, and their charter was clear – to be a fully independent group to chart its own course and make recommendations to Columbia University. Recommendations that would dramatically change the university forever.
Andrew Cordier was appointed as interim President of the university and during June 1968 the Cox Commission delivered its report “The Cox Commission Report – Crisis at Columbia” that recommended monumental changes to the university while shifting more power to the Columbia administration. Many of the recommendations were not well received by the faculty as they perceived an overreach by the administration to reduce the faculty’s influence on governance of the university. A period of benign neglect set in as the administration could not implement the recommendations and members of the faculty resisted or left the university. The malaise ended when the federal government on November 3, 1971, after two years of stalled negotiations, terminated all federal funds and grants to Columbia University. At that time the termination of $33 million of federal funds accounted for nearly 20% of the university’s operating budget of $170 million. Ironically, 54 years later and the federal government’s termination of all federal funding and grants again amounts to nearly 20% of the current Columbia University operating budget.
During the ‘70s period of tumult, a new President of Columbia University William McGill acted and gave his senior team thirty days to address the federal government’s concerns. Moving forward against resistance from members of the faculty, a comprehensive plan was developed, complete with a five-year implementation timeline. The changes met with trepidation because they would substantially change the culture of the university. However, the plan was accepted by the federal government and federal funding was restored after a five-month freeze. This was a catharsis for Columbia University that enabled the university to recover and grow from the 1968 student riots.
There are many parallels between the campus events of 1968 and 2024. Today, unrest has fomented strife with the university rudderless, again needing leadership through turbulent waters. To date the Columbia University response has been negligible, locking down the university, and hoping the demands of the federal government will disappear. Rather than avoidance, now is a time for critical introspection and a time for leadership as Columbia University needs to reconstruct itself. Following the events of upheaval back in 1968, guidance from experts outside the university will likely set a new course needed for the university.
Some will claim that history will inevitably repeat itself. For the well-being of Columbia University, academic research, and future generations of students let’s hope that history at Columbia WILL repeat itself. Hopefully, Columbia University will learn from its failings and use this opportunity to shape a campus culture that peacefully protects viewpoint diversity and unfettered free expression. If this means curtailing some faculty prerogatives/powers, so be it. If this means reining in student behavior that is against the University’s rules on time, place, and manner of protests, so be it. If this means seeking damages from vandals (students and/or outsiders) who destroyed property, so be it. But at the end of the process, the University needs to be a place where teaching, not indoctrination, is paramount, where the Administration makes and enforces its rules on protests, and where the laws of America are obeyed.
Special thanks to https://standcolumbia.org for providing insights on Columbia University’s history and to the forward thinking Columbia alumni who support www.columbiafreespeechalliance.org .
Timothy Tracey is a retired technology entrepreneur and a founding member of the Columbia Free Speech Alliance. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard University.
