The U.S. Department of Education is formally investigating the University of North Texas for allegations of antisemitism on its Denton campus, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported.
A spokesperson for the university confirmed on March 27 that the institution had received notice of the Title VI investigation in February and would cooperate fully with the department.
UNT is one of 45 federally funded universities that received direct correspondence reiterating the “schools’ civil-rights obligations to end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities,” the Education Department stated.
The investigation follows increasing tensions on the Denton campus since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Pro-Palestinian activists organized several marches and demonstrations on campus, as well as protested against a Jewish student group’s hosting of an event that included members of the Israel Defense Forces.
Neal Smatresk, former president of UNT, described the campus pro-Palestinian protests as “peaceful” during his final board of regents meeting in 2024.
In early March, four Republican state legislators signed a letter to university administrators demanding the removal of an exhibit at the UNT Union Art Gallery featuring art submitted by two Muslim students critical of the Israeli government and the cancellation of a lecture by a history professor who used the term “genocide” when speaking about Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, prompted by the atrocities on Oct. 7.
While it does not have a large Jewish student population, UNT houses an active Hillel chapter and established a Jewish studies program—the only such program at a public university in the Dallas-Fort Worth area—in 2000, the Record-Chronicle reported.