The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a compliance investigation into the College of William & Mary, alleging the Williamsburg, Virginia institution discriminates in favor of ethnic minorities through several of its scholarships and student benefit programs. Federal officials have given the public research university until September 8 to hand over documents and information related to the review.
The DOJ's Civil Rights Division, in an August 17 press release, argued that awarding scholarships or coveted student opportunities based on race violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and offends the guarantees of a color-blind Constitution. As reported by Reuters, the department characterized its probe as a compliance investigation rather than a formal finding of wrongdoing, and William & Mary said it does not comment on pending litigation matters. The university has stated it is committed to nondiscriminatory learning environments and compliance with federal and state law, and said it has reviewed the information it received from the DOJ.
According to Reuters, William & Mary maintains that its scholarships are not limited to any race. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, framed the case in stark terms in the department's release, stating that race-based student benefits offend constitutional guarantees of colorblind treatment.
Law School Programs Under the Microscope
At the center of the investigation is William & Mary Law School's Lemon Legal Scholars Program, which the DOJ says appears exclusively earmarked for graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, per the department's letter to the university. As detailed by WVEC, investigators also flagged the Reaching Back Scholarship, a need-based award that gives preference to HBCU graduates or applicants who contribute to diversity.
The Lemon Legal Scholars Program grew out of the law school's Why We Can't Wait initiative and is tied to the Lemon Project, which examines William & Mary's 300-year history with slavery and racial discrimination, according to William & Mary Law School. The Lemon Project takes its name from Lemon, an enslaved man once owned by the university. Programs like these, the dossier notes, were established specifically to address that legacy of slavery and racial discrimination.
Education Fellowships and Undergraduate Scholarships Also Cited
The DOJ's review extends beyond the law school. Investigators flagged two programs in William & Mary's School of Education: the Martha L. Muguira Fellowship, which gives preference to Hispanic or Latino women, and the doctoral-level Holmes Scholars program, which provides mentorship for future education leaders of color, per the DOJ. The department said Hispanic women were given preference in the fellowship, according to its letter.
Federal officials also took aim at the undergraduate W&M Scholars program, which covers full in-state tuition and fees. The DOJ alleges the program's selection criteria give top consideration to applicants who express interest in diverse people and perspectives, according to the department's letter to the university.
What Happens Next
Under Title VI procedure, the DOJ must first attempt to secure compliance through informal voluntary means before pursuing formal action, WVEC reports. If the department ultimately finds William & Mary out of compliance, the consequences could include suspension of federal financial aid or a civil enforcement lawsuit, with the potential loss of federal research funding and student financial assistance at stake, according to the same report.
A key open question is whether William & Mary will revise its scholarship language before the September 8 deadline or choose to fight the matter in court, an outcome not yet indicated by either the university or the DOJ. The probe adds to pressure the school already faces: the U.S. Department of Defense placed William & Mary on a list of targeted institutions in February, restricting Pentagon research ties over alleged liberal institutional bias, as Inside Higher Ed has reported.
Part of a Broader Federal Campaign
The William & Mary review follows closely on the DOJ's August 6 determination that Duke Law School violated Title VI by using application essay questions and institutional guidelines to preserve race-conscious admissions outcomes — the first law school found in violation under the administration's post-SFFA enforcement framework. It is also one piece of a wider 2026 push targeting universities nationwide, including compliance reviews at Indiana University Bloomington, Arizona State University, and Harvard, as Hoodline has previously reported on Harvard's scholarship review.
President Donald Trump has targeted U.S. universities more broadly with probes and funding suspension threats, part of a pattern that has also produced federal lawsuits over state tuition policies in Maryland and Massachusetts. Reuters notes these university probes have raised free speech, due process and academic freedom concerns among rights advocates, and have addressed issues ranging from pro-Palestinian protests to diversity initiatives, admissions practices, transgender policies and climate programs. Separately, Mother Jones reports that roughly 70 percent of career attorneys in the Civil Rights Division departed by mid-2026 amid a leadership shift toward gun rights enforcement and dismantling university diversity initiatives.
