Court halts effort to force UCLA DEI revisions through research-grant conditions
A federal judge halted an effort by federal agencies to require UCLA to change campus policies as a condition for accessing more than $1 billion in research funding.
The University of California system, based in Oakland, California, argued that the proposed conditions exceeded the scope of the underlying civil-rights investigation.
A federal judge halted an effort by federal agencies to require the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to change campus policies as a condition for accessing more than $1 billion in research funding.
On Nov. 15, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin issued a preliminary injunction preventing agencies from enforcing a proposed settlement that would have required UCLA to alter its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, protest-permitting rules, and several internal administrative policies.
[RELATED: DOJ memo targets DEI programs at federally-funded schools]
The University of California system, based in Oakland, argued that the proposed conditions exceeded the scope of the underlying civil-rights investigation. A campus spokesperson told CalMatters that the government’s demands attempted to impose requirements unrelated to the original inquiry.
In her ruling, Lin wrote that the federal approach raised “serious First Amendment concerns” and lacked necessary due-process safeguards. She stated that agencies cannot compel “viewpoint-based conformity” by conditioning funding on acceptance of ideological terms.
According to CalMatters, UCLA receives more than $1 billion annually in federal research funding. The University of California system receives approximately $17 billion in total federal research support.
Faculty unions and academic freedom organizations supported the lawsuit. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that faculty members raised concerns about federal interference in university governance.
[RELATED: Williams College agrees to remove DEI language to comply with federal funding rules]
Court filings show that the proposed settlement included detailed requirements for changes to DEI programming and campus procedures. UC officials argued in legal documents that such conditions would impact internal governance and academic operations.
Campus Reform reached out to the UC System for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
