UNC Settles With Education and Justice Departments

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill agreed not to use or analyze racial data in its admissions process and to adopt race-blind policies for scholarships as part of a settlement with the Trump administration announced Monday. 

The agreement with the Education and Justice Departments also requires UNC to hire a coordinator to respond to complaints of antisemitism and provide mandatory antisemitism training to all students, faculty and staff. In addition, UNC can’t partner with any bridge or pipeline program that takes into account a student’s race or ethnicity.

In exchange, the Education Department will close its 18 investigations into UNC, and the Justice Department will end a compliance review that began April 18, 2025. UNC is not required to pay anything, as some universities have.

“This announcement reinforces our commitment to the fair and equal treatment of everyone at Carolina,” UNC Chancellor Lee H. Roberts said in a statement Monday evening. “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.”  

The DOJ announcement about the settlement twice noted the university’s cooperation. Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said in a statement that she hopes “other institutions will take note and do the same.”

Most notably, Harvard University has refused to settle, instead taking the administration to federal court to challenge its civil rights enforcement actions.

Dhillon added, “The Civil Rights Division commends UNC for its cooperation in meeting its obligations under federal law without the need for litigation.”

Kimberly Richey, who leads ED’s Office for Civil Rights, called the settlement “an important step in upholding civil rights laws and restoring the American people’s confidence in higher education.”

Under the settlement, which will last until Dec. 31, 2028, UNC agreed to send quarterly reports of any antisemitism and race discrimination complaints it has received. The university also has to appoint a “Merit and Civil Rights Administrator” who will ensure compliance with the agreement.

That administrator is to report directly to UNC’s chancellor and “shall be given sufficient supervisory authority, staff, ability to retain outside parties, funding at UNC’s expense, and access to information, persons, and resources,” according to the agreement. (UNC didn’t admit wrongdoing or liability as part of the settlement.)

UNC officials noted in their news release that the agreement provides protections for academic freedom. The settlement states that “the United States disclaims any aim of dictating the content of academic speech or curricula, and no provision of this Agreement shall be construed to engage in or authorize such control.”

They also added that the settlement recognizes steps the university has taken to comply with federal civil rights laws while protecting UNC’s eligibility for federal funding.