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The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill will create a new “merit and civil rights” role to prevent antisemitism and race-based admissions practices under a settlement agreement with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, announced Monday.
The settlement closes 18 civil rights investigations against the public university involving allegations of antisemitism and “race discrimination,” a department news release states.
“We remain fully committed to upholding our responsibilities under federal civil rights law,” UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts told The Daily Tar Heel in response to the news. “If we weren’t, then I don’t think the Justice Department would have agreed to this resolution.”
As part of the agreement, the university will establish a “Merit & Civil Rights Administrator” who will send quarterly reports to the federal government detailing any antisemitism and race discrimination complaints, according to the news release.
Additionally, the university agreed to begin requiring antisemitism training for the campus community, including faculty and staff.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees the Civil Rights Division, praised UNC for cooperating on the settlement and avoiding litigation.
“… we hope other institutions will take note and do the same,” Dhillon stated in a news release.
The conditions of the settlement run through the end of 2028, according to the student newspaper:
The compliance review, which the DOJ opened in April 2025, concerned the University’s admissions practices.
By entering into the agreement, the University effectively safeguards its ability to compete for federal grants, contracts and research funding. The announcement states that UNC does not admit wrongdoing or liability and is not required to make a monetary settlement payment.
The agreement was finalized after about a year of negotiations. The University approached the federal government about a resolution upon seeing threats to research funding across the country.
Certain pending investigations into the University will be “held in abeyance” or paused until the agreement’s term ends on Dec. 31, 2028. These include pending investigations UNC may be unaware of and accounts for those that may arise between the agreement’s signing and its 2028 conclusion, UNC Vice Chancellor and General Counsel Paul Newton said in an interview with The Daily Tar Heel.
Dozens of higher education institutions are facing similar investigations under the Trump administration’s civil rights offices.
Many of the cases involve allegations that universities are covertly discriminating against white and Asian students in their admissions practices in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
Others involve claims that the institutions failed to adequately discipline antisemitic behavior such as blocking Jewish students from attending classes, or protect Jewish students and faculty from harassment.
MORE: UCLA Law skirts race-based admissions ban in applications, Justice Department alleges
