The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has agreed to race-blind admissions and new antisemitism rules in a settlement that closes 18 federal civil rights investigations, the Justice Department said Monday.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights signed the voluntary agreement with the university, according to a Justice Department release. Fox News reported that the deal carries no payment and that UNC admits no wrongdoing.
UNC stays eligible for federal funding. The Education Department will close its 18 open investigations, and the Justice Department will close a compliance review it opened April 18, 2025. The agreement runs through Dec. 31, 2028.
What UNC agreed to do
- Admissions: Adopt a color-blind system. UNC may not use race, analyze racial data or change its process to shift the racial makeup of its student body. It may not partner with “bridge” or “pipeline” programs that consider race or other protected traits.
- Aid and programs: Keep scholarships, financial aid, student benefits and programming race-blind. Scholarship criteria may not include diversity.
- Antisemitism: Create a Title VI coordinator post, require antisemitism training for all students, faculty and staff, and ban face masks that hide a person’s identity, with some exceptions. Student groups can be disciplined for antisemitic conduct.
- Oversight: Name a “Merit & Civil Rights Administrator” within 30 days and send discrimination complaints to both federal agencies every quarter.
What officials said
“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,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in the release.
Kimberly Richey, who leads the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, said applicants “will be assessed based solely on their merit — not race.”
UNC Chancellor Lee H. Roberts said the agreement “reinforces our commitment to the fair and equal treatment of everyone at Carolina,” according to Fox News. The university named compliance official Elizabeth Hall to fill the new oversight roles, Fox reported.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice release (Oct. 19); Fox News.
