In related but separate actions, the Department of Education and Health and Human Services have opened discrimination actions against Duke University.

The Office for Civil Rights in the Education Department has begun a “directed investigation” into Duke University and the Law Journal at Duke to review potential violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In a release issued Monday, the department said the action was in response to recent reporting that claimed Duke had used racial factors, including race, color, “and/or national origin,” to select law journal members.

In a separate move, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, informed Duke administrators in a letter that shared their concerns about the use of race as a preferential factor in “Duke’s hiring, admissions, and scholarship decisions.” That is primarily focused on Duke University School of Medicine and other components of Duke Health.

Read more at Newsmax© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.