Temple enters agreement with US Education Dept. after investigation into discrimination response

A U.S. Department of Education (DOE) investigation into Temple University’s handling of complaints related to antisemitic, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian discrimination found the university consistently took “proactive” steps to address complaints when they arose. But the DOE said in a statement that concerns about Title VI compliance — relating to discrimination based on shared ancestry — remain.

Philadelphia-based Temple entered into an agreement with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to ensure compliance with Title VI in the future, effectively ending its investigation.

According to the resolution agreement, the school will provide annual anti-discrimination training for all students and staff, conduct a survey on antisemitic, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian discrimination on campus, and provide regular reports on all complaints of discrimination and harassment based on shared ancestry to the Department of Education.

“Today’s resolution with Temple University is designed to improve university practices to ensure full compliance with federal civil rights protections against discrimination,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said in a statement. “[The Office for Civil Rights] looks forward to working with Temple throughout its implementation of the resolution agreement to ensure Temple students, faculty, and staff are able to learn and work in an environment free from harassment and discrimination.”

At least 50 reports of harassment and discrimination against Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian students were reported during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years at Temple University. Reported incidents included graffiti of a swastika found on a dorm room door, a professor calling Muslim students “terrorists,” the word “Jew” being written on a car in front of a Jewish student’s apartment, vandalization of an Israeli student’s art, and pro-Palestinian protest activities or vandalism targeting Jewish student centers like the Hillel building and a Jewish fraternity.

The Department of Education said in a press release that “the university has consistently taken proactive and responsive steps to address instances of harassment based on shared ancestry.” It also noted that in 2022 the school created a Blue Ribbon on Antisemitism and University Responses and hired a Special Advisor on Antisemitism.

However, the Office for Civil Rights still raised concerns about Title VI compliance. Primarily, it noted concerns that there was little information sharing between campus offices regarding alleged discrimination and a failure to assess whether individual incidents on campus were creating a hostile environment more broadly.

Many of the reported incidents stemmed from on-campus responses to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Numerous colleges and universities in Pennsylvania and across the country have been criticized for their handling of protests and reports of discrimination against Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian students in their aftermath.

In a statement Monday, Temple University President John Fry reiterated that the agreement “includes no findings of noncompliance or wrongdoing by the university. This resolution allows us to focus on our essential work in addressing all complaints of discrimination and harassment, including antisemitic, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim and all unlawful discriminatory incidents that create a hostile environment for members of our community.”

Fry added that “Acts of hatred and discrimination against any person will not be tolerated, and those who are determined to have engaged in unlawful discrimination or harassment will be subject to discipline under applicable policies.”

This article was updated Dec. 2, 2024 at 5:45 p.m. with a statement from Temple University President John Fry