Duke University has resolved a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in the aftermath of an anti-Semitic and anti-Israel conference last year.
“Conflict Over Gaza: People, Politics and Possibilities” reportedly used $5,000 of taxpayer funds from the U.S. Education Department.
The resolution agreement required Duke to issue a statement by Jan. 30, condemning discrimination, including that which is anti-Semitic, in addition to submit to OCR an updated version of the school’s Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment and Related Misconduct.
The updated policy “must provide a description of the forms of anti-Semitism that can manifest in the university environment,” according to the agreement.
Kimberly Hewitt, Duke’s vice president for institutional equity and chief diversity officer, emailed a statement to the university community on Jan. 29.
“Simply put, the university does not tolerate anti-Semitism, and I encourage any member of the community to report when such conduct occurs,” said Hewitt in her statement, which encouraged Duke members to report anti-Semitic and sexual misconduct to the Office of Institutional Equity and the Office of Student Conduct, respectively.
Duke is also mandated to host a meeting during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years permitting university members to discuss misconduct. The specific dates of the meetings have not yet been determined.
