The University of Virginia (UVA) struck a deal with the Trump administration on Wednesday to pause multiple federal investigations into possible civil rights violations at the public institution.
As part of the agreement, UVA agreed to comply with the Justice Department’s guidance for schools receiving federal funding, which prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs – including the consideration of race in admissions decisions – and demands sex-separated athletic competitions and intimate spaces.
The agreement does not require the university to pay any financial settlement, unlike previous deals the Trump administration reached with Columbia University and Brown University to restore federal funding.
“This notable agreement with the University of Virginia will protect students and faculty from unlawful discrimination, ensuring that equal opportunity and fairness are restored,” Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said 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,” Dhillon added.
Under the terms of the deal, UVA will be required to provide the DOJ quarterly data and information through 2028, certified by the university’s president “under penalty of perjury,” to ensure the school is in compliance with the Trump administration’s guidance.
Five DOJ probes into the university’s admissions policies and other civil rights concerns will be suspended as part of the agreement and eventually closed if UVA completes its planned reforms outlawing DEI policies.
UVA will also be eligible for future federal grants and awards.
“After months of discussions with DOJ, I believe strongly that this agreement represents the best available path forward,” UVA interim President Paul Mahoney said in a message to students and faculty at the Charlottesville, Va., school.
“In the agreement, UVA acknowledges its obligation to follow civil rights laws,” Mahoney continued.
“The agreement does not require the University to make any monetary payments,” the interim president noted. “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 follows the resignation of former UVA President James Ryan in June, who had expressed a desire to “fight” the Trump administration’s demands that the school scrap DEI programs.
“To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University. But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job,” Ryan said in his resignation letter.
Ryan argued it would be “quixotic” and “appear selfish and self-centered” to take on the Trump administration at the risk of losing federal funding for the school and to lose its ability to admit foreign nationals on student visas.
