The University of Virginia has reached an agreement to end the Trump administration’s investigations of what the government alleged were various civil rights violations.
The University of Virginia has reached an agreement with the government that will halt the Trump administration’s investigations of what it alleged were various civil rights violations.
The agreement was announced by the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday afternoon. Under the terms of the deal, UVA agrees to comply with the Department ’s “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination”, assuring that it does not engage in racial discrimination in its programming, admissions, hiring, or other activities.
The university must provide information and data regarding these issues to the Department of Justice on a quarterly basis through 2028, and UVA’s president is required to “personally certify each quarter that UVA is in compliance with the agreement.”
UVA became a target of Trump administration last spring when the Justice Department began investigating various aspects of the its admissions and financial aid processes. That investigation ultimately resulted in a decision last July by then UVA president Jim Ryan to step down from his post.
Ryan, a popular and effective president for the university, had been under intense pressure from the Trump administration to resign in part because of his leadership on behalf of the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which the administration claimed violated federal civil-rights law.
“To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University.
