Six Massachusetts colleges and universities are among dozens being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for not protecting Jewish students from antisemitic discrimination and harassment.
Sixty colleges and universities across the country were named in a Monday press release announcing investigations into whether they have failed to meet their obligations to Jewish students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Boston University, UMass Amherst, Tufts University, Emerson College, Harvard University and Wellesley College were among the institutions named in the press release as being under investigation.
The release states that the education department is investigating the 60 colleges and universities for violating Jewish students’ civil rights, such as by not ensuring them “uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.“
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in the release.
Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs or activities that receive federal funding. It also allows money allocated by the federal government to be halted if an institution violates this provision.
“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege, and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws,” McMahon said in the release.
How Mass. colleges are responding
Wellesley College said it is in the process of reviewing the letter in a Tuesday statement to MassLive.
“Wellesley condemns antisemitism and other forms of hate and discrimination and has taken action to ensure that all our students, including Jewish students, have a strong sense of belonging at Wellesley,” the statement reads.
The college is continuing its work to “improve the climate on campus” and ensure Title VI compliance, it said in the statement. It is encouraging reporting of potential Title VI violations and has created mandatory Title VI anti-discrimination training for students and for other community members.
Wellesley also called attention to the fact that its efforts to crack down on antisemitism on campus were recently recognized in the Anti-Defamation League’s 2025 Campus Antisemitism Report Card. The Jewish anti-hate organization gave Wellesley a grade of B and acknowledged the college’s improvements over the past year.
“Our work on these issues is ongoing, and we look forward to updating [the Department of Education] on the ways we are addressing these issues and to sharing the results of this important work,” the college said
UMass Amherst acknowledged it had received the letter in an update posted to its website.
“The university condemns hatred, including antisemitism, in all forms. The University of Massachusetts Amherst will continue to cooperate fully with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights,” the update reads.
A spokesperson for Tufts said the university is currently reviewing the letter. None of the other colleges or universities named in the release responded to a request for comment by 1 p.m. Tuesday.
How we got here
Tufts, Harvard, Emerson and UMass Amherst were among the myriad colleges and universities across the country at which students formed encampments to protest the Israel-Hamas War last spring. A similar protest took place at Boston University around the same time, and Wellesley College was previously accused of failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
The federal education department first announced the Title VI investigations last week, but only named five colleges and universities, none of which are located in Massachusetts. The Monday press release announced that 55 additional universities are also now under investigation.
The investigations are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to fulfill a Jan. 29 executive order from President Donald Trump that calls for “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism.” The executive order accuses former President Joe Biden’s administration of failing to protect Jewish Americans in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
“These attacks unleashed an unprecedented wave of vile anti-Semitic discrimination, vandalism, and violence against our citizens, especially in our schools and on our campuses,” the executive order reads. “Jewish students have faced an unrelenting barrage of discrimination; denial of access to campus common areas and facilities, including libraries and classrooms; and intimidation, harassment, and physical threats and assault.”