Justice Department Drops Discrimination Case Against Yale

NEW HAVEN, CT— Last summer, the Justice Department charged that Yale University "illegally discriminates against Asian American and white applicants in its undergraduate admissions process in violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act."

The DOJ lawsuit against the university was based on a 2016 complaint to the department by an Asian American who alleged race-based discrimination in admissions at Yale and other Ivy League schools.

Wednesday, the Justice Department dropped the case brought during the Trump Administration, Yale confirmed.

“Yale is gratified that the U.S. Justice Department has dropped its lawsuit challenging Yale College’s admissions practices," Yale communications director Karen N. Peart said in an email to Patch. We are also pleased that the Justice Department has withdrawn its notice of violation of Title VI and its notice of noncompliance.”

Peart said the DOJ filing against the University and its notice of violation “unexpectedly and precipitously cut off an exchange of information that Yale looks forward to resuming.”

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Students for Fair Admission is expected to refile the lawsuit.

As reported by Patch in 2020, the discrimination lawsuit was based on a claim by Yukong Zhao who accused Yale, Brown University and Dartmouth College of “unfairly" denying undergraduate admission to Asian-American applicants "by treating them differently based on their race during the admission process,” according to an Education Department letter obtained by the New York Times.

Justice said then its findings were the result of a two-year investigation in response to a complaint by Asian American groups concerning Yale’s conduct. But the university noted then that the DOJ concluded its investigation before reviewing all the data the university said it submitted.

"Yale has been fully cooperating with the DOJ investigation. We have produced large quantities of documents and data, and we are continuing to do so. However, the DOJ concluded its investigation before reviewing and receiving all the information it has requested," Yale president Peter Salovey said in a letter last August calling the Justice Department's allegations "baseless" as he said the university was committed to complying with federal law and that the DOJ "inexplicably rushed to conclude its investigation without conducting a fully informed analysis, which would have shown that Yale’s practices absolutely comply with decades of Supreme Court precedent."

Wednesday, in a letter penned to the Yale University community, Salovey "shared the welcome news" that the case had been dropped. He wrote that the Justice Department "wrongly alleged that Yale College’s admissions process discriminates against Asian American and white applicants. Even though Yale had cooperated with the department and provided data and facts to correct these misconceptions, the department filed suit against Yale in October."

"I am pleased that the department has decided to drop its lawsuit and has withdrawn its notices of violation of Title VI and of noncompliance," he wrote. "Instead, the department will resume the compliance review that it set aside last fall in favor of litigation. Yale welcomes the chance to share information with the department, confident that our admissions process complies fully with decades of Supreme Court decisions".

The DOJ’s claim then was that it “rejects scores of white and Asian American applicants each year based on their race, whom it otherwise would admit."

Although the Supreme Court has held that colleges receiving federal funds may consider applicants’ race in certain limited circumstances as one of a number of factors, the Department of Justice claimed in its lawsuit and notice of violation that found Yale’s "use of race is anything but limited."

When it filed its lawsuit last year, the DOJ was demanding that Yale agree not to use race or national origin in its upcoming 2020-2021 undergraduate admissions cycle and if it did, to submit a "plan demonstrating its proposal is narrowly tailored as required by law, including by identifying a date for the end of race discrimination" to the Justice Department.

But Yale said then it was not changing its admissions process, described as one that looks at the “whole person,” and their accomplishments, ideas, expertise, by “bringing people of different backgrounds, talents, and perspectives together, we best prepare our students for a complex and dynamic world."

"Yale College will not change its admissions processes in response to today’s letter because the DOJ is seeking to impose a standard that is inconsistent with existing law," Salovey wrote last summer.

And on Wednesday, after the DOJ announced it was dropping the lawsuit, Peart reiterated its position.

“Our admissions process has allowed Yale College to assemble an unparalleled student body, which is distinguished by its academic excellence and diversity,” Peart said. “Yale has steadfastly maintained that its process complies fully with Supreme Court precedent, and we are confident that the Justice Department will agree."

Salovey said as the spring 2021 university semester has begun, the news allows for a "time of reflection and re-commitment to Yale’s mission of educating future leaders who will serve all sectors of society."

"Our ability to realize this shared mission relies on an admissions process that looks at the whole applicant: where applicants come from, what they have accomplished, and what they hope to achieve at Yale and after graduation," Salovey wrote. "In this way, we create an incoming class that is richly diverse—with invaluable benefits to our students, faculty, and community."

This story was updated Thursday with comments from Yale University president Peter Salovey.