UNC-CH Signs ‘Agreement’ With Federal Government Over Alleged Discrimination

UNC-Chapel Hill on Monday signed an agreement with the federal government to close several pending investigations that sought to determine whether the university had ignored antisemitism on campus and discriminated based on race, sex, ethnicity, and other characteristics protected under the law.

UNC-CH does not admit wrongdoing or liability under the agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education, and it will not pay a monetary settlement. But it must train the campus community on antisemitism, submit additional reports on its compliance with the law, and appoint an administrator to oversee the efforts. 

UNC-CH is the latest of a handful of elite universities to reach settlements over similar allegations, though its agreement carries markedly lighter penalties. Universities have faced intense scrutiny under the second Trump administration, which has sought to retool antidiscrimination laws and crack down on schools in the process, often by freezing their federal research funding.

UNC-CH will remain eligible to compete for research funds, and the agreement states that the federal government does not intend to dictate the university’s academic speech or curriculum.

“This announcement reinforces our commitment to the fair and equal treatment of everyone at Carolina,” UNC-CH Chancellor Lee Roberts said in a statement. “For at least a decade, through different presidential administrations, U.S. universities have faced heightened public scrutiny across a range of issues. We’re proud to resolve those issues at Carolina in a way that protects our mission and affirms the civil rights of everyone in our community.”

Roberts told The Assembly by phone on Monday that the university had been working on the agreement “for a while.” He declined to say whether UNC-CH had approached the government seeking a settlement or vice versa, saying only that it was part of the university’s “ongoing dialogue with policymakers.” A DOJ news release described the agreement as “voluntary.” 

Roberts said the university felt it needed to engage in the discussions given the “enforcement actions” and “very significant penalties” other universities, including some of UNC-CH’s peers, have faced. 

Before Monday, UNC-CH had avoided much of the scrutiny other schools faced. In several prominent cases, most notably at Columbia University, colleges have paid tens of millions of dollars and agreed to other stipulations to settle discrimination claims and regain access to research funds. The University of Virginia, the only other public university to settle with the administration, must follow terms similar to UNC-CH’s. But UVA’s former president said he was forced out as part of the deal, which requires the school to comply with federal anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. 

Still, UNC-CH last March was one of 60 schools that the education department said could face penalties, including the loss of federal funding, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if they did not show they were adequately protecting Jewish students—a move that came as the federal government sought to tackle a backlog of complaints alleging antisemitic behavior on college campuses. In December 2023, the department’s Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation into whether UNC-CH discriminated against students based on their shared Jewish ancestry, in response to a complaint from a local attorney. 

An online database maintained by the office shows UNC-CH faced additional complaints about its handling of disability accommodations, sexual violence, and racial harassment, among other issues, dating back several years. A UNC-CH news release also noted that the Department of Justice had been reviewing UNC-CH’s admissions practices to ensure compliance with Title VI. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled race-conscious admissions unconstitutional in landmark cases involving UNC-CH and Harvard University.

“That represented significant prospective liability and legal costs for the university, and so having the opportunity to resolve them in a blanket agreement like this was attractive to us,” Roberts told The Assembly.

Under the deal, UNC-CH must submit quarterly reports until December 31, 2028, on how it is complying with federal antidiscrimination laws and must appoint a “merit and civil rights administrator” and a Title VI coordinator to oversee that process. Both roles will be added to the duties of the associate vice chancellor for university compliance, Elizabeth Hall. The agreement also requires the university to implement antisemitism training for students, faculty, and staff, including “specialized” training for campus police and others who handle discrimination complaints. 

The university is already complying with several other parts of the deal.

For instance, the agreement mandates the university “adopt and maintain non-discriminatory and color-blind admissions decisions, policies, practices, and processes.” The university must comply with the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed consideration of race in college admissions unconstitutional, a case in which UNC-CH was a defendant. And under the UNC System’s equality policy, approved in 2024, the university annually affirms that it is not supporting DEI efforts and that it is following nondiscrimination laws. Additionally, the agreement requires the university to consider standardized test scores when applicants submit them, which is consistent with UNC System policies.

Holden Thorp, the former UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor who is now editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals and often comments on issues in higher education, acknowledged that it will be difficult for some at UNC-CH to accept that the university chose to settle with the Trump administration. But he noted the agreement is “a really good deal” compared to those reached at Columbia, Brown University, and other schools. 

“There’s no fine, and there’s no departments singled out, and most of the things they agreed to are things that they probably would have had to do anyway,” Thorp said.

To Roberts, the lighter terms of UNC-CH’s deal are “a recognition that we’re already doing a good job when it comes to compliance.” 

Thorp predicted that other universities, particularly public ones, may take UNC-CH’s lead and enter voluntary agreements with the administration to protect their research enterprises. Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant U.S. attorney general who oversees the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and grew up in Smithfield, urged other schools to follow suit.

“Higher ed policies and practices that tolerate antisemitism or favor certain racial groups over others, frustrate our color-blind justice system,” Dhillon said in a statement. “The Civil Rights Division commends UNC for its cooperation in meeting its obligations under federal law without the need for litigation; we hope other institutions will take note and do the same.”

The agreement is effective immediately. Within 90 days, UNC-CH must submit to the justice and education departments a spreadsheet of all complaints it has received since October 7, 2023, alleging discrimination and the university’s response.

Any additional investigations that arise after Monday will be held in abeyance, or paused, until the agreement’s conclusion in December 2028.