Update on Office for Civil Rights agreement Campus Message

Campus Community,

I want to share an update on a mandatory federal review we’ve conducted of university partnerships and memberships.

What We Found

Over the past 60 days, the Office of Legal Counsel and dozens and dozens of senior administrators and area budget officers have reviewed tens of thousands of records and contracts to determine whether any may be considered discriminatory because they may limit participation based on race, gender or similar characteristics.

This internal review is a result of a federal government investigation by the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that found UK was in violation of the Civil Rights Act for our relationship with an organization deemed discriminatory because it limited participation based on race. You can read more about that initial investigation here: https://pres.uky.edu/news/important-update-on-federal-actions.

• During the initial review, roughly 400 memberships or partnerships were immediately identified as essential because they are required for accreditation, certification, licensure or other legal or mission-critical purposes. These relationships remain in place.
• Approximately 1,200 records have been flagged for additional review. These items were not immediately identified as essential within the limited timeframe provided for our initial response. Being flagged does not necessarily mean a membership or partnership has been discontinued. It simply means they require a closer look to understand their purpose and whether they are necessary to our academic, clinical, research or service missions.

View our full report here, which was filed with the federal government. You can also review a Question-and-Answer section that, I hope, provides additional information and clarity around this complex and challenging issue.

Next Steps

• We will work with colleges and units to review the remaining flagged memberships or partnerships to better understand their purpose and decide whether to continue or end them.
• Specifically, we will follow a methodical process and examine whether any of those memberships or partnerships flagged are critical for accreditation or licensure or are vital to part of our academic, clinical, service or research missions.
• That process will take some time, and we will work directly with those units involved with those partnerships or memberships.
• While the OCR review continues, UK is pausing renewals and approval of new memberships and partnerships paid with institutional funds, except those required for accreditation.
• Faculty may continue participating in professional communities, but no new membership payments or renewals will be processed until we receive federal guidance and can issue clear university-wide criteria for future decisions.

Background and Context

There have also been other federal directives recently — including this memorandum from the federal Attorney General — that indicate that race, gender and other characteristics of partnerships might be considered discriminatory in nature.

And at the state level, House Bill 4 — adopted with strong support in both chambers during the 2025 legislative session — further limits how institutional funds can be utilized in support of initiatives related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

House Bill 4 was one of a number of measures, adopted during the legislative session, that scrutinizes our work more closely and requires us to do more. Last week, our Board of Trustees adopted a new plan in response to House Bill 424, which requires a centralized faculty performance review process as well as the creation and implementation of standards to measure work productivity.

This further federal guidance and state law informed our review process and report.

As a result, we have been broad in our review of how institutional funds have been used in the past and defining limits on their usage now and in the future. We have also been clear that none of these policies — at either federal or state levels — limit academic freedom or scholarly work.

Still, we know this process can create uncertainty. We will work with colleges and units to ensure essential memberships or partnerships will remain. Our priority is to comply with federal law while protecting our mission and people — to advance this state in all that we do. That means we must be there for each other and remain focused, as much as possible, on our mission of how we advance Kentucky in all that we do.

We will work every day to do that as well — lean on each other and remain fixed on why we are here and what we do together.

We will keep you informed as we learn more. Thank you for your continued commitment to UK and the Commonwealth.

Eli Capilouto

President