(The Center Square) – Duke University and the Duke Law Journal are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, accused of violating Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
According to Secretary Linda McMahon’s department, the probe is “based on recent reporting alleging that Duke University discriminates on the basis of race, color, and/or national origin by using these factors to select law journal members.”
A letter dated Monday from McMahon and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went to university leaders requesting Duke “review all policies and practices at Duke Health for the illegal use of race preferences, take immediate action to reform all of those that unlawfully take account of race or ethnicity to bestow benefits or advantages, and provide clear and verifiable assurances to the government that Duke’s new policies will be implemented faithfully going forward – including by making all necessary organizational, leadership, and personnel changes to ensure the necessary reforms will be durable.”
The Law Journal is accused of sabotaging its competition for editor selection in favor of “diverse voices” and “an affinity group.”
Federal funding for Duke Health is threatened by the probe.
The Durham higher education institution joins a who’s who of elite universities at risk of losing federal money. Others in no particular order include but are not limited to Harvard, Cornell, Brown, Northwestern, Columbia, Princeton and Penn.
Civil rights violations probes are ongoing at more than 40 institutions across the country. Clemson and Notre Dame, two athletics league companions of Duke, are among them.
