Northwestern University under investigation by U.S. Department of Education for alleged Title VI violation

EVANSTON, Ill. - The U.S. Department of Education has opened an investigation into a complaint that Northwestern University violated Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act.

According to the Department of Education's website, the investigation into the Chicago area institution was opened on Tuesday.

This comes after the Biden-Harris Administration announced efforts in November to address a nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and other forms of discrimination and harassment on college campuses and in K-12 schools since the October 7 Israel-Hamas conflict.

Northwestern University provided the following statement in response to the investigation:

"The University was notified by the U.S. Department of Education that it has opened an investigation into a complaint that Northwestern violated Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act. The University will respond to the Department of Education and cooperate with its investigation. The complaint against Northwestern was not filed by a member of our community but instead by an outside organization. The Department of Education is investigating dozens of universities. 

Northwestern is committed to providing a safe, welcoming environment for everyone in our community. Northwestern does not tolerate antisemitism or discriminatory acts directed at any individual based upon their race, religion, national origin or other protected categories."

An Education Department spokesperson provided FOX 32 with the following statement: 

‘The Department does not comment further on pending investigations. For more information about how OCR processes investigations, please see OCR’s Case Processing Manual."