DOJ Agrees to Halt Probes Into University of Virginia

‘After months of discussions with DOJ, I believe strongly that this agreement represents the best available path forward,’ UVA’s interim president said.

Students return to the University of Virginia for the fall semester in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 19, 2017. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Oct. 22 halted civil rights investigations into the University of Virginia (UVA) after the college agreed to abide by the Trump administration’s guidance to not engage in “unlawful racial discrimination” during the hiring and admissions process.

“This notable agreement with the University of Virginia will protect students and faculty from unlawful discrimination, ensuring that equal opportunity and fairness are restored,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division wrote in a statement.

“We appreciate the progress that the university has made in combatting antisemitism and racial bias, and other American universities should be on alert that the Justice Department will ensure that our federal civil rights laws are enforced for every American, without exception.”

The DOJ started investigating the UVA’s Charlottesville campus in April after federal officials said the school did not end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.

The public university was under five separate probes into its “admissions policies and other civil rights concerns,” which have now been paused due to the agreement.

The initial fallout resulted in 47 federal grants being terminated. Eight of the public university’s grants “have been fully reinstated and one partially reinstated,” according to a Q&A section updated on the UVA’s website on Oct. 22.

“The total award amount of the remaining terminated multi-year grants is $74 million,” the university claimed on its website. “These grants were in different stages, with some nearing completion and others just beginning. Of the $74 million total, approximately $60.4 million was funding that the University expected to receive but had not yet been spent and reimbursed by funding agencies.”

UVA interim President Paul Mahoney, who took over after former university president James Ryan resigned over disagreements with the Trump administration’s DEI guidance in June, confirmed the deal in an Oct. 22 statement posted on UVA’s website.

“After months of discussions with DOJ, I believe strongly that this agreement represents the best available path forward,” Mahoney wrote.

The UVA did not have to pay millions of dollars in the deal, unlike agreements signed by Columbia and Brown. Columbia agreed to pay the government $200 million to stop investigations and regain access to federal funding. Brown agreed to pay $50 million to workforce development programs in Rhode Island.

“The agreement does not require the University to make any monetary payments,” Mahoney said.

“Importantly, it preserves the academic freedom of our faculty, students, and staff. We will be treated no less favorably than any other university in terms of federal research grants and funding. The agreement does not involve external monitoring. Instead, the University will update the Department of Justice quarterly on its efforts to ensure compliance with federal law.”

The university continued to reiterate that “UVA expressly denies liability with respect to the subject matter of the [DOJ] Investigations.”

The federal government will not have the ability to limit what is researched or taught at the school, according to the university.