Key facts
- The Trump administration's Justice Department is investigating Yale University's admissions policies for alleged discrimination against white and Asian applicants.
- Critics, including faculty and students, argue the DOJ's evidence is insufficient and the investigation is politically motivated.
- Yale has hired the law firm McGuire Woods to negotiate a potential settlement with the DOJ.
- The DOJ's investigation follows a Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action in college admissions.
- A letter from the DOJ in May concluded that Yale School of Medicine discriminated against other applicants to benefit preferred race classes.
Faculty and students are urging Yale University to resist a settlement with the Trump administration's Justice Department, which is investigating the university's admissions practices for alleged discrimination against white and Asian applicants. Critics argue the DOJ's evidence is insufficient and the investigation is politically motivated.
The Justice Department has claimed that Yale's medical school discriminated against white and Asian applicants, a claim that critics say is based on insufficient evidence. The investigation follows the Supreme Court's ruling against affirmative action in college admissions. Yale has hired the law firm McGuire Woods, which previously represented the University of Virginia in a similar settlement, to negotiate with the DOJ.
In a letter to Yale President Maurie McInnis and the Board of Trustees, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers stated that the university should not participate in a campaign to use civil rights enforcement for political control over higher education. A similar plea was made by Yale's student government, with an online petition garnering over 4,000 signatures.
The DOJ issued a six-page letter in May concluding that Yale School of Medicine discriminated against other applicants to benefit preferred race classes of Black and Hispanic students. The DOJ based this finding partly on variations in median test scores and grades, noting that while Black and Hispanic students had MCAT scores in the 95th and 94th percentiles, white and Asian students scored in the 100th percentile.