UNC agrees to race-blind admissions, mandatory antisemitism training in settlement with Trump admin

The university-wide agreement, announced Monday by the Department of Justice, covers UNC’s undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, along with its other programs. It will remain in effect through December 31, 2028.

The settlement resolves investigations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin at institutions receiving federal financial assistance. According to DOJ, the Education Department will close 18 active investigations, while the Justice Department will close a separate compliance review opened April 18, 2025.

“Title VI requires that all students — regardless of their ancestry or race — receive equal treatment under the law at federally funded colleges and universities,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “Higher ed policies and practices that tolerate antisemitism or favor certain racial groups over others frustrate our color-blind justice system,” she continued. “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.”

Under the agreement, UNC must maintain policies to prevent and punish unlawful antisemitic discrimination, explicitly protect Jewish and Israeli students under its nondiscrimination policy, and promptly assess and investigate antisemitism complaints. The university must provide mandatory antisemitism training to students, faculty, and staff, deploy additional law enforcement resources when circumstances warrant protecting Jewish and Israeli students, and discipline student organizations for antisemitic discriminatory conduct.

The agreement also restricts face coverings used to conceal identity. UNC said exceptions remain for legitimate medical and religious needs, consistent with state law and UNC System policy. Lawful political expression and demonstrations remain protected.

The admissions provisions require UNC to maintain a color-blind system without using race or analyzing racial data in its admissions process. The university cannot change its admissions procedures to engineer the racial composition of its student body or disadvantage applicants who decline to identify their race.

UNC also cannot select admissions personnel based on race or partner with bridge and pipeline programs that consider protected characteristics. Beyond admissions, the agreement requires race-blind policies governing scholarships, financial aid, student benefits, and programming. Scholarship criteria cannot include diversity or identification with a protected characteristic.

“Because of today’s agreement with UNC, aspiring students will be assessed based solely on their merit — not race — and Jewish students can thrive without the threat of antisemitic discrimination,” said Kimberly Richey, assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department.

The agreement follows other settlements and federal findings involving antisemitism and racial discrimination at American universities. Columbia University settled with the Trump administration in July 2025 addressing antisemitism, civil rights complaints, and compliance with the Supreme Court’s prohibition on race-based admissions. Columbia agreed to pay $200 million to the federal government, alongside a separate $21 million settlement addressing antisemitism against employees. The agreements included institutional reforms and compliance monitoring.

In September, federal investigators found UC Berkeley School of Law deliberately discriminated against white and Asian applicants. Investigators said black applicants received nearly six times the admission odds of similarly qualified white applicants.

Earlier this month, DOJ announced similar findings involving UCLA School of Law. The department concluded that the school intentionally discriminated against white and Asian applicants in admissions, including after the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-conscious college admissions. The findings concerned the incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025.

UCLA separately agreed in July 2025 to a settlement exceeding $6 million with Jewish students and a professor over exclusion from campus areas during the 2024 anti-Israel encampment. That private lawsuit settlement included damages, charitable contributions, and attorneys’ fees, alongside a permanent court order prohibiting UCLA from excluding Jewish students from campus facilities and activities.

In another university settlement announced September 15, DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services reached an agreement with Lincoln Memorial University concerning discrimination against Jewish medical students seeking religious accommodations. The agreement required changes to attendance policies, training, and reversal of penalties imposed on affected students.

UNC’s settlement requires the designation of a “Merit & Civil Rights Administrator” within 30 days and establishment of a Title VI coordinator. The university said Associate Vice Chancellor for University Compliance Elizabeth Hall has been appointed to both positions.

UNC must submit quarterly reports to federal officials concerning antisemitism and race discrimination complaints.

The university will remain eligible for federal funding. UNC said the agreement requires no monetary settlement payment and includes no admission of wrongdoing or liability. It also said the agreement expressly protects academic freedom and does not give the federal government control over academic speech or curricula.