Federal investigation opened into “embedded” racism at Princeton

The US Department for Education (USDfE) has opened an investigation into Princeton University following the school president’s declaration that racism was “embedded” in the institution.

Earlier this month, president Christopher Eisgruber published an open letter claiming that “racism and the damage it does to people of colour persist at Princeton”, and that “racist assumptions from the past also remain embedded in the structures of the University itself”.

After the publication, the USDfE said that the letter amounted to a “shocking” and “serious” admission of discrimination.

As President Eisgruber “admitted Princeton’s educational program is and for decades has been racist”, department officials wrote in a letter that there are concerns “Princeton’s non-discrimination and equal opportunity assurances in its Program Participation Agreements from at least 2013 to the present may have been false”.

The USDfE has now sent a formal records request, and is seeking to establish whether Princeton lied to the public with its marketing, and to the department in its promise not to uphold racist standards.

President Eisgruber and a “designated corporate representative” must sit for interviews under oath, and Princeton must also respond to written questions regarding the matter.

If it proves a case, Princeton could lose tens of millions of dollars in federal funds, and fines may be imposed to recover more than $75 million of federal funding received since 2013.

Racism and the damage it does to people of colour persist at Princeton […] racist assumptions from the past also remain embedded in the structures of the University itself

– President Christopher Eisgruber

According to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, colour, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance”.

After the investigation was revealed, Princeton released a statement: “Princeton has long been committed to creating and maintaining a community where all can thrive, and stands by its representations to the Department and the public that it complies with all laws and regulations governing equal opportunity, non-discrimination and harassment.

“This work is core to the University’s teaching and research mission, and we are vigilant in our pursuit of equity in every aspect of our programs and operations.

 “The University also stands by our statements about the prevalence of systemic racism and our commitment to reckon with its continued effects, including the racial injustice and race-based inequities that persist throughout American society.”

The Trump administration has increasingly sought to intervene with elite universities and their policies around race, and the President previously blasted Princeton on Twitter from removing former President Woodrow Wilson’s name from its public policy school.

The US Justice Department announced in August that a two-year investigation at Yale University revealed illegal discrimination against Asian American and white applicants, and is now supporting a lawsuit making similar claims of bias at Harvard.

In a recent speech at the National Archives, President Trump decried certain anti-racism efforts as “anti-American propaganda” and “left-wing indoctrination”. He announced plans to establish a commission to promote “patriotic education” in schools.