Trump administration freezes $108M at Duke amid inquiry into alleged
racial discrimination
[July 31, 2025]
By COLLIN BINKLEY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is freezing $108 million in
research funding to Duke University as the federal government accuses
the school of racial discrimination in the form of affirmative action,
according to a person familiar with the matter.
The National Institutes of Health halted the funding to the private
university in North Carolina, said the person who spoke Wednesday on the
condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Earlier this
week, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Education
Department sent a joint letter alleging racial preferences in Duke's
hiring and admissions.
Duke is the latest institution to have its federal funding held up as
the government investigates allegations of antisemitism and diversity,
equity and inclusion policies the administration says are unlawful. It
follows other probes including at Harvard, Columbia, and Cornell.
Duke did not immediately comment.
In Monday's letter to Duke, leaders of HHS and the Education Department
accused the university of “vile racism.” It alludes to allegations of
racial preferences at Duke, its medical school and its health system
that, if substantiated, would make Duke “unfit for any further financial
relationship with the federal government.”
The letter accuses Duke of providing racial preferences in recruiting,
admissions, scholarships, hiring and more. It refers to allegations of
discrimination without offering specific examples.
“Racism is a scourge when practiced by individuals, but it is especially
corrosive when enshrined in the nation’s most eminent and respected
institutions,” according to the letter, signed by Health Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
It’s part of a broader campaign to eradicate DEI practices the Trump
administration describes as discrimination against white and Asian
American people.
In their letter, the agencies order Duke to end any practices at its
health system that give “benefits or advantages” based on race.
[to top of second column]
|
This Jan. 28, 2019 file photo shows the entrance to the main Duke
University campus in Durham, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
Saying Duke is unlikely to be capable of an “honest and trustworthy
review,” the letter takes the unusual step of requesting a new Merit
and Civil Rights Committee that would be approved by the government
and authorized by the school’s board of trustees. The panel would be
tasked with identifying and ending any racial preferences. If
problems remained after six months, the administration would pursue
legal enforcement, the letter said.
The Education Department separately opened an investigation into the
Duke Law Journal on Monday over allegations that it gave advantages
to prospective editors from underrepresented groups.
The Trump administration has used federal research funding as
leverage in its effort to reshape universities that President Donald
Trump has described as hotbeds of liberalism. It has presented a
crisis for universities that rely on federal grants as a major
source of revenue, spurring some to take on debt and find other ways
to self-fund research.
Duke University spent $1.5 billion on research last year, with
nearly 60% coming from federal sources, according to the
university’s website.
Even before the latest funding freeze, Duke faced financial turmoil.
Last week, university leaders said almost 600 employees had accepted
voluntary buyouts but that layoffs would still be needed. Officials
said they needed to reduce costs amid uncertainty around federal
research funding and a hike to the university’s federal endowment
tax.
The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on
universities in hopes of striking deals like one that Columbia
University signed last week. The Ivy League school agreed to pay
$200 million and make changes to admissions, hiring, student
discipline and more in exchange for regaining access to federal
funding. The administration has described it as a template for other
universities including Harvard, which has been in talks with the
administration even as it battles the White House in court.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
