Stanford is one of 60 schools under investigation by the Trump administration for antisemitism on campus.
The schools received letters on Monday from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, saying they were under investigation for Title VI violations related to antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon in a statement.
Schools that operated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs are also under scrutiny, as the administration sees DEI as being discriminatory. The administration said it is investigating 45 universities and colleges for “engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs,” including Yale, Cornell, Duke and MIT.
Stanford was not targeted in that investigation.
In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that colleges cannot consider race in admissions. The case involved Harvard and the University of North Carolina, but it has forced colleges to change their admissions practices. The Trump administration has said it plans to enforce the Supreme Court decision.
Stanford quietly removed information about DEI from its website around the time President Trump was inaugurated, the Stanford Daily reported.
On Jan. 13, the university’s “About” webpage contained a section outlining “deep respect for diversity in all its forms.” The page stated that Stanford “seeks to provide all students with the opportunity and tools to build community and connection across the racial, socio- economic, geographical, and political lines that often present barriers to greater understanding.”
The content has since been deleted.
“We’re going to need to review programs on campus that fall under the DEI heading, and it’s likely that some will need to be modified or sunsetted,” President Jonathan Levin said at a Faculty Senate meeting on Jan. 23, according to the university.
Levin also froze hiring of non-faculty positions as potential financial uncertainties mount for universities across the United States.
The National Institutes of Health is trying to dramatically reduce payments to universities for indirect costs associated with research, Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez said on Feb. 26.
“Though this is currently under review by the courts, a cut of this magnitude would have a significant negative budget impact at Stanford,” Levin and Martinez said in a statement.
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