The Trump administration said Thursday it is opening an investigation into UC, accusing universities of increasing teacher diversity “may be” the target of illegality and racial-based employment discrimination.
The Supreme Civil Rights Attorney of the Justice Department said in a brief 419-word letter to UC President Michael V. Drake that “reasonable reasons” believe that UC has “certain employment practices that can discriminate against employees, job seekers and participants in training programs based on race and gender.”
The letter notes that the ambitious UC program adds at least 20,000 students by 2030 — while increasing graduation rates, share of students who earn undergraduate diplomas within four years and access to UC campuses in underpersonal ethnic minorities and other ethnic minorities in higher education. The UC announced the program in 2021, which later raised its admission target to 33,000 if sufficient resources (such as funds) are available.
The Justice Department has performed well in a small section of the extensive “2030 UC 2030 Capacity Program,” which lists aspirations to increase the diversity of graduate students and faculty, including the addition of 1,100 tenured faculty.
Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Civil Rights Division, wrote that the program could “illegal actions on the University of California and some or all of its member campuses could lead to illegal actions.”
The Justice Department added in a statement that the UC “instructs its campus to hire ‘diversified’ faculty and staff to meet racial and gender employment quotas”, alleging violations of Chapter VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“It is important to note that we have not yet drawn any conclusions on the subject,” Dhillon added.
Although UC goals set out to identify universities’ ambitions to increase diversity, they do not set quotas for recruitment. Since 2020, UC Regents (the governor-appointed board) has also used quotas based on race and gender to formally ban. The move comes as Californians debate proposal 16, which would reverse the state’s affirmative action ban, but failed to pass.
A UC said in a statement Thursday that the university complies with the law and will work with the investigation.
“University of California is committed to conducting fair, legal procedures in all our programs and activities, in line with federal and state anti-discrimination laws,” said Rachel Zaentz, senior director of strategy and critical communications.
“The university also aims to promote a welcome and supported campus environment,” she said. “We will work sincerely with the Department of Justice when conducting the investigation.”
The investigation is the second UC recruitment survey initiated by the Trump administration, whose strong driving force is to take action against its claimed colleges, rather than black, Latino and other racial, racial or religious groups rather than Asian, white and Jewish students, staff, staff and staff. Trump also faces court challenges by ordering ending work on diversity, equity and inclusion in educational institutions that receive federal funding.
In March, the Justice Department investigated whether UC “didates patterns or practices that discriminate against its professors, employees and other employees based on racial, religious and ethnic sources, allowing for an anti-Semitic hostile work environment on its campus.”
It is based on teacher petitions and complaints that alleged alleged anti-Semitism at pro-Palestinian camps last year, calling on the UC to evacuate from the war with Israel in Gaza.
Both investigations adopt a “mode or practice” investigation based on a campus investigation based on federal anti-discrimination laws, a civil rights enforcement method used during a democratic government to deal with allegations of racism against the police department.
Also in March, the Justice Department accused UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Irving of using “illegal DEIs” in admissions, which may refer to affirmative action. The Department of Health and Human Services is also investigating UCLA’s medical school, allegedly discriminating in admissions.
The university denied such an action. Zaentz said UC stopped using race in admissions, when Prop. 209 (prohibiting consideration of race in public education, recruitment and signing) came into effect in 1997. Since then, “UC has implemented admission practices to comply with the law,” she said in March.
Two UC campuses — Los Angeles and Berkeley — are on the list of 10 campuses, which are fighting anti-Semitism federal task forces say they are studying. The task force played a major role in attracting billions of dollars in federal funding from Harvard and Columbia in allegations that they promote anti-Semitism.
