The US Department of Education launched an investigation into Princeton University after its president’s acknowledged that racism remained ’embedded’ at the institution.
Officials with the Trump administration on Wednesday addressed a letter to Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber over his recent comments about systematic racism.
The Department of Education (DOE) noted that Princeton University had received more than $75million in federal funding, despite potentially not adhering to the Title VI mandates.
‘No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,’ according to the DOE.
Under such a statute, federal officials claimed that Eisgruber’s acknowledgement has led them to question the university’s commitment to non-discriminatory practices.
The US Department of Education said this week that it launched an investigation into Princeton University after its president Christopher Eisgruber published an open letter addressing systematic racism
‘Based on its admitted racism, the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) is concerned Princeton’s nondiscrimination and equal opportunity assurances in its Program Participation Agreements from at least 2013 to the present may have been false,’ the letter read.
‘The Department is further concerned Princeton perhaps knew, or should have known, these assurances were false at the time they were made.
‘Finally, the Department is further concerned Princeton’s many nondiscrimination and equal opportunity claims to students, parents, and consumers in the market for education certificates may have been false, misleading, and actionable substantial misrepresentations.’
Subsequently, the DOE could force Princeton University to pay back the millions of dollars it’s collected over the years.
The DOE, led by US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, also requested additional documents and transcribed interviews with selected individuals.
On September 2, Eisgruber published an open letter on Princeton University’s website that discussed efforts to combat systematic racism.
The letter was meant to bring attention to initiatives implemented at Princeton University to dispel racial inequality.
Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber (pictured) wrote in an open letter on September 2 that ‘Racist assumptions from the past also remain embedded in structures of the University itself’
The letter read: ‘Racism and the damage it does to people of color nevertheless persist at Princeton as in our society, sometimes by conscious intention but more often through unexamined assumptions and stereotypes, ignorance or insensitivity, and the systemic legacy of past decisions and policies.
‘Race-based inequities in America’s health care, policing, education, and employment systems affect profoundly the lives of our staff, students, and faculty of color.
‘Racist assumptions from the past also remain embedded in structures of the University itself.’
The letter offered an example of systematic racism at the institution, like ‘Princeton inherits from earlier generations at least nine departments and programs organized around European languages and culture, but only a single, relatively small program in African studies.’
Princeton University in the past has acknowledged is participation in racism, starting in 1746 when it was founded as the College of New Jersey.
‘The University’s first nine Presidents all owned slaves, a slave sale took place on campus in 1766, and enslaved people lived at the President’s House until at least 1822. One professor owned a slave as late as 1840,’ according to Princeton University’s website.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos (pictured) answers questions following a visit to Forsyth Central High School…
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