BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- The U.S. DOJ has reached a settlement with the University of Virginia to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and ensure compliance with federal civil rights laws, closing five investigations into the school's admissions practices.
- UVA will submit quarterly compliance reports through 2028, with the university president certifying adherence to the agreement.
- Interim President Paul Mahoney said the settlement upholds the school's academic freedom.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday it has reached an agreement with the University of Virginia to ensure the school upholds federal civil rights laws and eliminates gender and racial discrimination.
The school agreed to ban “diversity, equity, and inclusion” practices to close five ongoing investigations into the school’s admissions process, according to a news release from the DOJ.
Under the agreement, the department will pause its investigations while UVA submits relevant information and data every quarter through 2028. The university’s president is required to “personally certify” that UVA is complying with the terms each quarter.
If the school complies, the government will close its investigations at the end of 2028.
“This notable agreement with the University of Virginia will protect students and faculty from unlawful discrimination, ensuring that equal opportunity and fairness are restored,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said.
“We appreciate the progress that the university has made in combatting antisemitism and racial bias, and other American universities should be on alert that the Justice Department will ensure that our federal civil rights laws are enforced for every American, without exception,” she said.
In an announcement to the university community, Interim President Paul Mahoney stated the agreement preserves the school’s academic freedom.
Mahoney also stated the school will conduct a “thorough review of [its] practices and policies” to ensure it’s abiding by the law.
“We will also redouble our commitment to the principles of academic freedom, ideological diversity, free expression, and the unyielding pursuit of ‘truth, wherever it may lead,’ as Thomas Jefferson put it,” he stated.
Earlier this year, former UVA President James Ryan resigned following pressure from the DOJ to remove him amid the investigation, The College Fix previously reported.
In June, the Justice Department notified UVA of several complaints of race-based treatment on campus. It also told the school the government concluded race-based practices were “widespread … throughout every component and facet of the institution.”
Last week, UVA became the fifth school to reject President Donald Trump’s reform Compact for funding benefits, according to an announcement from Mahoney that included a letter to Secretary Linda McMahon.
“The integrity of science and other academic work requires merit-based assessment of research and scholarship,” the letter to McMahon states.
“A contractual arrangement predicating assessment on anything other than merit will undermine the integrity of vital, sometimes lifesaving, research and further erode confidence in American higher education,” it states.
Trump has offered universities preferential access to federal funding if they implement a series of reforms. These include instituting a five-year tuition freeze, prohibiting the consideration of race or sex in hiring and admissions, maintaining institutional neutrality on political issues, capping foreign student enrollment at 15 percent, and adopting the traditional definitions of male and female, among other measures.
MORE: MIT, Georgia Tech and Caltech deeply embedded with DEI, research finds
