BREAKING: UVA Interim President Paul Mahoney Announces, “This afternoon, I signed an agreement with the federal government that suspends the five remaining Department of Justice investigations into the University.”

Editor’s Note: After sending the agreement to the Department of Justice, interim President Paul Mahoney sent this message to the UVA Community.

To the University of Virginia community:

This afternoon, I signed an agreement with the federal government that suspends the five remaining Department of Justice investigations into the University. After months of discussions with DOJ, I believe strongly that this agreement represents the best available path forward. I encourage all members of the UVA community to review the full agreement, available here. You can find answers to some frequently asked questions here.

In the agreement, UVA acknowledges its obligation to follow civil rights laws. The United States acknowledges the work we are doing to demonstrate full compliance and agrees to suspend the investigations while we continue that work.

The agreement does not require the University to make any monetary payments. Importantly, it preserves the academic freedom of our faculty, students, and staff. We will be treated no less favorably than any other university in terms of federal research grants and funding. The agreement does not involve external monitoring. Instead, the University will update the Department of Justice quarterly on its efforts to ensure compliance with federal law.

We intend to continue our thorough review of our practices and policies to ensure that we are complying with all federal laws. We will also redouble our commitment to the principles of academic freedom, ideological diversity, free expression, and the unyielding pursuit of “truth, wherever it may lead,” as Thomas Jefferson put it. Through this process, we will do everything we can to assure our community, our partners in state and federal government, and the public that we are worthy of the trust they place in us and the resources they provide us to advance our education, research, and patient care mission.

Many people contributed to this constructive outcome, including the Board of Visitors, University leadership, and our internal and external legal counsel. Some work remains to be done to satisfy fully the terms of this agreement. I am optimistic, however, that our community will be able to pursue that work in a manner consistent with the values and principles that are at the heart of everything we do.

Yours truly,

Paul G. Mahoney
Interim President
University of Virginia