#Princeton faces federal probe for saying racism is ’embedded’ there

Princeton University could be forced to pay back millions of dollars in federal funding — and also be fined — over its president’s recent admission that racism persists at the Ivy League institution.

In a letter to Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber, the US Department of Education said it was opening an investigation into a Sept. 2 letter in which he outlined the school’s “efforts to combat systemic racism.”

“Among other things, you said ‘[r]acism and the damage it does to people of color persist at Princeton…’ and ‘[r]acist assumption…remain embedded in structures of the University itself,” Assistant Secretary Robert King of the Office of Postsecondary Education wrote.

Princeton’s “admitted racism” raises questions about the accuracy of “nondiscrimination and equal opportunity assurances” it’s made to the DOE in exchange for more than $75 million in taxpayer money since Eisgruber took over in 2013, King said.

Officials are also “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,” he said.

King’s Wednesday letter demands that Princeton produce a host of records and written answers to questions within three weeks, and also make Eisgruber and a “designated corporate representative” available for “transcribed interviews, under oath,” within four weeks.

“Based on the facts, [Education Secretary Betsy DeVos] may consider measures against Princeton for false Program Participation Agreement nondiscrimination assurances, including an action to recover funds,” King wrote.

“Also, she may consider measures against Princeton for making substantial misrepresentations about the nature of its educational program, including a fine proceeding.”

In the letter, first reported Thursday by the Washington Examiner, King noted that federal officials were “aware of the challenges posed by COVID-19 to institutions of higher education.”

“However, the serious, even shocking nature of Princeton’s admissions compel the Department to move with all appropriate speed,” he added.

The probe will be conducted by the DOE’s Office of the General Counsel and the matter is also being referred to the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights “for any additional action they deem appropriate,” King said.

Princeton spokesman Ben Chang said in a written statement that the university would respond to the DOE “in due course.”

“It is unfortunate that the Department appears to believe that grappling honestly with the nation’s history and the current effects of systemic racism runs afoul of existing law,” Chang wrote.

“The University disagrees and looks forward to furthering our educational mission by explaining why our statements and actions are consistent not only with the law, but also with the highest ideals and aspirations of this country.”