UNC settles Trump admin probes into alleged campus antisemitism, race-based admissions
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has agreed to changes in a voluntary settlement with the Trump administration, closing 18 federal investigations and a separate Justice Department review into alleged antisemitism and race discrimination. The agreement matters because it sets new requirements for the university while allowing it to retain eligibility for federal funding.
UNC will appoint compliance officials, provide mandatory antisemitism training, restrict face coverings used to conceal identity subject to exceptions, and discipline student groups for antisemitic discriminatory conduct. It must also use race-blind admissions and policies for student benefits, scholarships, financial aid and programming, while still being able to consider personal adversity and consistently applied factors such as poverty. The agreement runs through the end of 2028, requires quarterly reporting of relevant complaints to federal agencies, involves no payment, and includes no admission of wrongdoing by UNC.
- UNC settlement closes 18 federal investigations and a separate DOJ review.
- The university must make changes to training, reporting and race-blind policies.
- UNC admits no wrongdoing and keeps eligibility for federal funding.
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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public university that receives federal funding. US civil rights laws apply to universities receiving that money, including rules on discrimination based on race and on protecting students from antisemitic harassment.
The federal government can investigate whether universities have followed those rules. The Trump administration’s reviews of UNC concerned alleged antisemitism and the use of race in admissions and other university programmes; allegations are claims that have not necessarily been proved.
The case touches on how universities respond to discrimination complaints and how they make admissions and funding decisions. UNC’s agreement with federal agencies sets requirements through 2028, while allowing the university to remain eligible for federal funding.