Justice Dept. demands a shift in UCLA values

Administration seeks changes in hiring, admissions, gender policies and more.

- BY JAWEED KALEEM

GENARO MOLINA Los Angeles Times FEDERAL allegations that UCLA has failed to address antisemitism complaints led to the settlement plan.

The Trump administration's settlement proposal to UCLA — which includes a nearly $1.2-billion fine over allegations of antisemitism and civil rights violations — seeks to drastically overhaul campus practices on hiring, admissions, sports, scholarships, discrimination and gender identity, a Times review of the document shows.

The 28-page letter — whose full contents have not been made public — also lays out in sweeping detail how it wants the university to enforce new policies that adhere to the president's conservative agenda.

The Department of Justice's August demands reach into numerous aspects of campus life and call for the university to make public declarations that it has agreed to significant elements of President Trump's vision of higher education.

In exchange, the government will release roughly half a billion dollars in suspended research grants from the National Institutes of Health and Department of Energy to UCLA.

The letter has launched ongoing negotiations between University of California leaders and the Department of Justice.

UC has not publicly agreed to the stipulations — which have been broadly summarized in reporting from The Times. In statements, leaders have scoffed at the exorbitant fine. Privately, they've said many other requests would violate UCLA's mission and values.

The more than 7,300-word proposal outlines a three-year agreement that calls on UCLA to:

■Make five years of payments — $200,000 annually — and set up a $172,000 fund for people with claims of civil rights violations.

■Ensure foreign students who are “anti-Western” will not be admitted.

■Pay for all costs of the settlement, including the fee for an outside monitor.