Trump administration suspends UCLA's research funding over antisemitism claims

Los Angeles, Aug 2
The Trump administration is suspending federal research funding to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), one of the top public universities in the United States, over claims of "antisemitism and bias," according to the university's chancellor.

"UCLA received a notice that the federal government, through its control of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies, is suspending certain research funding to UCLA," the university's chancellor, Julio Frenk, said in a statement Thursday.

"This is not only a loss to the researchers who rely on critical grants. It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do," noted the statement.

Frenk pointed out that "hundreds of grants may be lost, adversely affecting the lives and life-changing work of UCLA researchers, faculty and staff" through Washington's decision, Xinhua news agency reported.

Roughly 300 grants amounting to nearly $200 million were suspended, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In its notice to us, the federal government claims antisemitism and bias as the reasons. This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination," the chancellor added.

Frenk said that the university "has taken robust actions to make our campus a safe and welcoming environment for all students."

The suspension comes after a US Department of Justice civil rights investigation that alleged UCLA had been "deliberately indifferent" to widespread harassment of Jewish and Israeli students during 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses.

Earlier this week, the university agreed to pay $6.45 million to settle a lawsuit over treatment of Jewish students and a professor during the protests.

UCLA became the latest top university in the country being targeted by the federal government over claims that it has not taken enough actions to combat antisemitism on campus.

Last week, Columbia University announced that it agreed to pay over $200 million to the federal government to restore federal funding after it was investigated over campus antisemitism.

Another Ivy League school, Brown University, agreed Wednesday to a 50-million-dollar deal with the Trump administration after facing probes over the treatment of Jewish students on campus and the consideration of race in its admissions.

In March, the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights sent letters to 60 universities, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia and Stanford University, regarding investigations into alleged antisemitic discrimination and harassment on their campuses.