The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced a resolution agreement with Lehigh University in Pennsylvania to ensure the institution complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This follows an investigation into allegations of harassment based on shared ancestry.
The OCR's investigation raised concerns about the university's compliance with Title VI, specifically its failure to evaluate whether incidents of alleged harassment during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years contributed to a hostile environment for students based on shared ancestry. For instance, there were reports of mezuzot being stolen from Jewish students' dormitory rooms, but it appeared that the university addressed each incident separately without considering their collective impact. Another incident involved a swastika symbol posted on social media tagging Jewish students, yet no outreach was conducted for all affected students.
Despite these concerns, the investigation confirmed that Lehigh University had taken significant steps to meet its Title VI obligations regarding shared ancestry. The university organized multiple events and programs following the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. The university President issued statements opposing certain conduct on campus and hosted dinners for Jewish and Muslim student leaders.
To address OCR's concerns, Lehigh University has agreed to several measures:
- Review and revise policies to ensure they comply with Title VI prohibitions against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, shared ancestry, and ethnic characteristics.
- Provide annual training for employees responsible for investigating discrimination complaints.
- Offer training for faculty, staff, and students about discrimination based on race, color, national origin, shared ancestry, and ethnic characteristics.
- Share results from a March 2024 survey and focus groups held during the 2023-2024 school year with OCR.
- Review responses to reports of discrimination or harassment from previous academic years to determine if they created a hostile environment.
- Develop a climate assessment for distribution in Spring 2026 to evaluate attitudes toward shared ancestry.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon stated: "Lehigh University has committed to taking important additional steps to respond to harassment based on shared ancestry which will help ensure that all students can learn in an environment free from discrimination."
The resolution letter and agreement are accessible on the Office for Civil Rights website.
