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Trump Administration Targets Duke University With Funding Freeze and Civil Rights Investigation

A joint federal letter demands Duke create a Merit and Civil Rights Committee within six months to resolve allegations of race-based selection practices.

FILE - This Jan. 28, 2019 file photo shows the entrance to the main Duke University campus in Durham, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
A general view of the Duke University Chapel and a statue of James Buchanan Duke on the Duke University campus on March 4, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina.
United States Department of Education logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Overview

  • The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has opened a directed Title VI investigation into Duke University and its Law Journal for allegedly using race, color or national origin in selecting journal editors.
  • A Washington Free Beacon report showed Duke Law Journal’s 2024 editor-selection rubric awarded up to 10 extra points for underrepresented-group membership and additional points for affinity-group leadership.
  • Education Secretary Linda McMahon and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent a joint letter demanding Duke form a Merit and Civil Rights Committee with Board of Trustees authority to overhaul contested admissions and hiring policies within six months.
  • The Trump administration froze $108 million in federal funding for Duke Health under Title VI and Section 1557, citing allegations of systemic racial discrimination in medical education, recruitment and patient care.
  • These measures follow earlier probes into Harvard, Columbia, George Mason and DACA-only scholarship programs and underscore a broader effort to challenge diversity-focused practices in higher education.