The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education, resolving 18 civil rights investigations into campus discrimination and antisemitism as well as a DOJ admissions compliance review.
The university faces no monetary penalties in the agreement, according to a press release posted to the university’s website on Monday.
The backlog of investigations includes cases filed as far back as 2019, spanning both the Biden and Trump administrations. Over the last seven years, the inquiries expanded to address allegations of discrimination based on race, sex, disability and ethnicity. Notably, the probes intensified following campus diversity initiatives, transgender policy disputes, and a spike in antisemitic harassment claims tied to pro-Palestinian protests. In April 2025, the DOJ added further pressure by launching an 18-month compliance review explicitly targeting the university's admissions practices. Seeking to protect its operations amidst growing federal threats to freeze taxpayer-funded research budgets across the country, UNC proactively approached federal authorities to reach a unified resolution.
According to the press release, the agreement ensures that the university retains full eligibility to compete for critical federal grants, contracts and research awards. Under the terms, which run through Dec. 31, 2028, UNC will appoint a Merit and Civil Rights Administrator to report directly to the chancellor and oversee compliance. The university must also enforce mandatory campus-wide antisemitism training and submit quarterly complaint reports to federal monitors. Crucially, the settlement explicitly states that UNC denies all legal liability and that the federal government disclaims any right to dictate academic speech or curriculum, preserving baseline academic freedom.
The agreement also prohibits admissions preferences based on race, though officials have said they already adhere to UNC System and federal law guidance in the admissions process.
Chancellor Lee H. Roberts praised the outcome while mentioning universities have experienced heightened scrutiny over the last decade.
“This announcement reinforces our commitment to the fair and equal treatment of everyone at Carolina,” he said.
UNC's agreement comes as the Trump administration has used civil rights investigations and federal funding restrictions to pressure universities over campus antisemitism, admissions policies and other institutional practices.
Columbia University agreed in July 2025 to pay $200 million to the federal government to resolve investigations and regain access to most of its federal research funding. Harvard University, by contrast, challenged the administration in court after it moved to cut billions of dollars in research funding. A federal judge later ruled against the government's cancellation of $2.2 billion in Harvard research funding.
