UNC hired Kendra Wharton’s firm two months after she left the Justice Department, and she helped steer yearlong talks that ended in a DOJ settlement announced Monday.
Under the deal, UNC will curb diversity, equity and inclusion programs, create a post to discipline student groups accused of antisemitism, and share civil-rights allegations and responses dating to Oct. 7, 2023.
The agreement closed more than a dozen federal inquiries while preserving UNC’s access to federal research funds; the university admitted no wrongdoing and paid no settlement money.
Wharton said her familiarity with the administration’s approach, especially Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon’s, helped shape negotiations, though some on campus questioned whether the arrangement invites political influence.