Eisgruber’s email did not disclose the amount of money in question.
“The full rationale for this action is not yet clear, but I want to be clear about the principles that will guide our response,” Eisgruber’s email said.
“Princeton University will comply with the law. We are committed to fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating anti-Semitism.
“Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this university.”
Eisgruber’s email said more information would be released following conversations with affected faculty, researchers, and grant managers.
Princeton is among the 60 elite higher education institutions currently under federal investigation for the harassment of Jewish students following Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Eisgruber and his colleagues from fellow Ivy League institutions—Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, and Yale—were among those who received March 10 letters from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a March 10 statement from the Education Department announcing the letters sent to universities. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”
The Trump administration announced on March 31 that it is examining $8.7 billion in contracts with Harvard.
In an email response to The Epoch Times, Harvard University officials said the school has taken steps in the past 15 months to address anti-Semitism on campus, but the Trump administration still believes the school has a long way to go.
“We will engage with members of the federal government’s task force to combat anti-Semitism to ensure that they have a full account of the work we have done and the actions we will take going forward to combat anti-Semitism,” Harvard President Alan Garber said in a letter sent to students and employees.
“We resolve to take the measures that will move Harvard and its vital mission forward while protecting our community and its academic freedom.
“By doing so, we combat bias and intolerance as we create the conditions that foster the excellence in teaching and research that is at the core of our mission.”
Columbia University was the first school to lose federal funding, $400 million, due to campus anti-Semitism.
The university’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, complied with nine conditions outlined by Education Secretary Linda McMahon and other federal agencies before resigning on March 28.
Eisgruber is also the board chairman of the American Association of Universities, which publicly criticized the Trump administration’s education cuts and, in February, filed a federal lawsuit opposing reductions to National Institute of Health research grants to universities.
“We look forward to presenting our case in court.”
“The Trump administration’s recent attack on Columbia University puts all of that at risk, presenting the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s. Every American should be concerned,” he wrote.
The Epoch Times contacted Princeton University and the Department of Education, which referred to the departments of Defense and Energy.
The Department of Defense declined to comment.
