​Emerson College among 60 universities under federal investigation for antisemitic discrimination and harassment​

BOSTON — ​Emerson College is among 60 higher education institutions that received letters from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), warning of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.

“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “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 antidiscrimination laws.”  

The schools that received letters from the Office for Civil Rights include:  

1. American University 
2. Arizona State University 
3. Boston University 
4. Brown University 
5. California State University, Sacramento 
6. Chapman University 
7. Columbia University 
8. Cornell University 
9. Drexel University 
10. Eastern Washington University 
11. Emerson College 
12. George Mason University 
13. Harvard University 
14. Illinois Wesleyan University 
15. Indiana University, Bloomington 
16. Johns Hopkins University 
17. Lafayette College 
18. Lehigh University 
19. Middlebury College 
20. Muhlenberg College 
21. Northwestern University 
22. Ohio State University 
23. Pacific Lutheran University     
24. Pomona College 
25. Portland State University 
26. Princeton University 
27. Rutgers University 
28. Rutgers University-Newark
29. Santa Monica College 
30. Sarah Lawrence College 
31. Stanford University 
32. State University of New York Binghamton 
33. State University of New York Rockland 
34. State University of New York, Purchase 
35. Swarthmore College 
36. Temple University 
37. The New School 
38. Tufts University 
39. Tulane University 
40. Union College 
41. University of California Davis 
42. University of California San Diego 
43. University of California Santa Barbara 
44. University of California, Berkeley
45. University of Cincinnati 
46. University of Hawaii at Manoa 
47. University of Massachusetts Amherst 
48. University of Michigan 
49. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 
50. University of North Carolina 
51. University of South Florida 
52. University of Southern California 
53. University of Tampa 
54. University of Tennessee 
55. University of Virginia 
56. University of Washington-Seattle 
57. University of Wisconsin, Madison 
58. Wellesley College 
59. Whitman College 
60. Yale University 

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued these letters under its authority to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits federally funded institutions from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin. Under Title VI, national origin protections extend to individuals with shared Jewish ancestry.

In accordance with Title VI and following President Trump’s Executive Order, Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism, the U.S. Department of Education initiated targeted investigations into five universities where widespread antisemitic harassment had been reported. These universities are:​

• Columbia University​
• Northwestern University​
• Portland State University​
• University of California, Berkeley​
• University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

The 55 additional institutions remain under investigation or monitoring due to formal complaints filed with OCR.​

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education —alongside members of the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which includes the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. General Services Administration—announced the immediate cancellation of $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University. The decision was made in response to the university’s failure to adequately address reported discrimination against Jewish students.​

Additionally, last Friday, OCR has directed its enforcement team to prioritize resolving a backlog of complaints alleging antisemitic violence and harassment, many of which had remained unresolved under the previous administration., the U.S Department of Education said.