DOJ to Investigate DEI at ASU After Secret Recordings

The Department of Justice is investigating Arizona State University in response to videos of ASU employees recorded by Accuracy in Media, a conservative group that secretly records and posts videos that they allege show university employees violating diversity, equity and inclusion bans.

In a news release, DOJ officials said those videos indicated that “ASU denied equal treatment to students based on race, color, or national origin—while attempting to hide its discriminatory practices from federal scrutiny.”

The two videos appear to include one in which a graduate program coordinator tells an individual posing as a prospective student, “We are DEI” in response to their question about if the program focuses on equity in pedagogy. In another video, a coordinator for another program told the individual that the institution had to remove words like “diversity” from the names of centers but “it isn’t changing the work.”

The investigation “will examine whether ASU subjects its students to illegal discrimination through its DEI policies in admissions, recruitment, scholarships, tutoring, and the provision of educational support,” according to the release.

ASU told Axios that the university is in full compliance with federal law and doesn’t discriminate in admissions. It declined to comment on the videos and said that the institution “does not comment on secret video recordings of its employees who are not authorized to speak on behalf of the university.”

Some employees at a handful of universities have lost their jobs over the past year after Accuracy in Media posted videos of them. This appears to be the first time the organization’s videos have led to a federal investigation.