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Attorney General Todd Rokita has issued new civil investigative demands to the University of Notre Dame and Butler University, seeking more information on the universities’ DEI practices after Rokita said the schools failed to provide materials requested by the office in May.
The civil investigative demands are being used to determine whether the schools are engaging in racially discriminatory practices that could violate their nonprofit statuses, the Indiana False Claims Act, or the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, according to Rokita’s office.
“Notre Dame and Butler were given ample time to address the concerns of many by responding to questions about their DEI practices, but they failed to provide anything meaningful,” Rokita said in a news release Thursday. “Just because the universities say they are complying with state law does not make it so. Publicly available materials in which the universities describe their race-conscious policies and practices are troubling and raise serious questions abut whether they treat their students, faculty, and staff differently based on race or skin color. On behalf of the people of Indiana, a full investigation is warranted to ensure that racial discrimination is not practiced in our institutions of higher education.”
Erin Blasko, Notre Dame’s associate director of media relations, issued the following statement in response to the Rokita announcement:
“As a faith-based institution driven by its religious values, Notre Dame strives to treat every member of our community in a manner consistent with our firmly held Catholic beliefs. At the heart of these beliefs is the recognition that we are all children of God, deserving of dignity and respect from one another. We are likewise committed to the rule of law. Accordingly, Notre Dame does not discriminate based on race or ethnicity. We are in receipt of the attorney general’s letter and will respond in due course.”
Mark Apple, Butler’s director of strategic communication, issued the following statement to The Lawyer:
“We are reviewing the request and will respond appropriately and in accordance with applicable legal requirements. We stand by the response we submitted on June 27, which affirmed that Butler University does not treat individuals differently based on race or ethnicity. We are committed to ensuring that our policies and practices comply with federal and state laws. Butler remains committed to our founding mission of providing equal access to education for all and fostering a learning environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed. At this time, we will not be offering further comment while we continue to assess the scope and implications of the CID,” Apple said.
The letters stated that the schools failed to sufficiently answer Rokita’s inquiries into the schools’ DEI practices.
Rokita stated that it is not an adequate response to offer an assurance that the schools are complying with civil rights laws. In particular,
Rokita said Notre Dame’s letter “[does] not even purport to address the specific examples of potentially unlawful actions my office has identified, such as racially segregated graduation ceremonies at Notre Dame and efforts to recruit faculty of a certain race.”
Back in May, Rokita issued letters to Notre Dame, Butler, and DePauw University, all nonprofit schools, seeking information on the schools’ DEI practices and policies in light of the decision in Students for Fair Admission, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that racially discriminatory practices in higher education can rarely be squared with federal civil rights laws.
In letters to the universities, Rokita asked the schools to respond to a set of questions pertaining to the schools’ diversity and inclusion practices, including what changes the schools have made in their hiring practices to adhere to the Supreme Court’s decision, how the universities determine who counts as a member of a marginalized group of people, and how the universities recruit more underrepresented students and faculty.
Rokita said a review of DePauw’s response to his May inquiry is ongoing.
This story has been updated.
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