The University publicly released its second quarterly compliance report to the Justice Department Tuesday. The report outlines new changes to student programming, the discontinuation of certain external partnerships, changes to hiring practices and updates to healthcare participation and academic policies. The compliance report describes modifications across several schools and administrative units, including the Division of Student Affairs, Darden School of Business, School of Medicine, School of Nursing and McIntire School of Commerce.
The seven-page report, submitted March 31 to the Justice Department, fulfills requirements under an October agreement with the Justice Department, which requires the University to submit quarterly updates demonstrating “good faith efforts” to align its policies and practices with federal civil rights laws. The agreement followed a series of federal civil rights investigations into the University over diversity, equity and inclusion practices and its admissions policies. The University then retained the law firm McGuireWoods LLP in June 2025 to conduct a broader civil rights compliance review, the findings of which form the basis of the University’s quarterly reports to the Justice Department.
The March 31 report states the broader compliance review is focused on evaluating current policies rather than investigating past conduct.
“The [r]eview is not designed as an investigation into individual intent or to determine legal liability for past actions. Rather, it focuses on identifying current policies, procedures and practices and assessing compliance under Title VI, VII and IX moving forward,” the March 31 report read.
The latest filing builds on the University’s initial compliance report released publicly Jan. 29, which detailed the dissolution of the University’s DEI office and the removal of DEI-related programming and language across multiple units. While the previous report focused on institutional restructuring, the March report provides a more granular look at how those changes are being implemented in student-facing programs, hiring practices and external partnerships.
The March 31 report mainly focuses on the Division of Student Affairs and Darden with additional updates within the University Medical Center, the School of Medicine, School of Nursing and McIntire.
Student Affairs
Within the Division of Student Affairs, the University reported that it has revised or eliminated several programs and practices previously associated with identity-based initiatives. According to the report, student affinity initiatives such as the Black Male Initiative, Black College Women and the Black Presidents' Council are no longer administered or funded by Student Affairs. The report states that these initiatives may continue independently but are no longer part of the University’s official programming structure.
The University also revised Student Affairs’ event programming and marketing practices. Events are now required to be “broadly advertised” to all students and structured to ensure participation is open on a first-come, first-served basis — without regard to race, sex or other protected characteristics. The report also states that Student Affairs does not create mailing lists based on protected characteristics.
Several events hosted by the LGBTQ Center and the Office of African-American Affairs have also been renamed. The report notes that a program previously titled “Queer Brunch” has been renamed “Cozy Brunch,” and “Black Fridays” has been renamed “Bridge Fridays,” with both events now marketed as open to all students. According to an archived webpage of Student Affairs community events, the language, “open to all University community members,” has been added to reflect that change.
The University also reported that implicit bias trainings are no longer offered in certain student governance bodies when they include content related to protected characteristics such as race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
“The Honor Committee and University Judiciary Committee no longer organize or offer implicit bias trainings for their members that include impermissible content regarding race or other protected characteristics,” the report read.
The University also reported that the Division of Student Affairs made changes to student programming and leadership development opportunities. The Truist Leadership Academy, a professional development program for students, has updated its eligibility criteria to clarify that participation is open to all students regardless of race or other protected characteristics and is “marketed broadly to the undergraduate student population.” According to a 2022 social media post by the U.Va. Career Center, the Truist Leadership Academy is “designed to support Black undergraduate students in exploring their career interests and growing their leadership skills.”
In addition, the report said that Student Affairs no longer organizes or hosts several graduation-related ceremonies that had previously been associated with identity-based recognition, including the Donning of the Kente Ceremony, the Lavender Ceremony and the Multicultural Recognition Ceremony. According to the report, student and alumni groups may choose to continue these ceremonies independently, but the University will no longer fund or organize them.
The report also references changes to student health services. Student Health and Wellness does not provide gender-affirming care to patients under the age of 19, consistent with a February 2025 resolution passed by the Board of Visitors.
Darden School of Business
At Darden, the University reported updates to scholarship processes and external partnerships. Additional scholarship award decisions are now made without consideration of race, color, national origin, sex or other protected characteristics, according to the report.
The University also evaluated the admissions process for the Future Year Scholars Program — a program for undergraduate students in their final year interested in an MBA — and confirmed that admissions decisions do not consider protected characteristics. According to the report, “decisions are based on academic merit, leadership impact and potential and demonstrated commitment to community service.”
Darden has also suspended participation in certain MBA admissions pipeline partnerships and discontinued affiliations with some external professional development programs while reviewing whether they meet federal nondiscrimination standards.
While the report did not specify which partnerships and programs were discontinued or suspended, these changes align with actions previously taken by Darden to end several long-standing partnerships with organizations focused on expanding access to business education for underrepresented groups.
In 2025, Darden ended a more than 30-year affiliation with the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management — which works to increase representation of Black, Native American and Hispanic students in business schools — as well as a two-decade partnership with Forté Foundation — which supports women pursuing business careers. The school also discontinued partnerships with Reaching Out MBA and Management Leadership for Tomorrow, organizations that provide networking, scholarships and career development opportunities for Darden students.
School of Medicine
The School of Medicine reported implementing new hiring and training procedures that emphasize merit-based evaluation. The report confirmed that the school does not use diversity-related hiring goals and does not provide preferences based on protected characteristics. The School of Medicine’s hiring and department managers are now required to complete training instructing them not to consider characteristics such as race or sex in recruitment decisions.
Employee resource groups are now required to include references to the University’s nondiscrimination policy on their website and ensure that membership is open to all individuals regardless of protected characteristics. According to the report, the School of Medicine also revised its admissions process for the Summer Medical Leadership Program — a six-week residential program for pre-medical students — to ensure that admissions decisions are not based on race, sex or other protected characteristics.
In addition, the School of Medicine no longer sponsors, funds or promotes student groups that are in violation of the University’s nondiscrimination policies and federal antidiscrimination laws. The report did not specify as to which student groups potentially lost funding or promotion from the School of Medicine. The report also notes that certain organization materials, including a website for the Women in Internal Medicine Network, have been updated to clarify that participation is open to all individuals.
Medical Center
The Medical Center — the University’s clinical care and hospital center — has withdrawn from participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Health Equality Index, a national benchmarking tool that evaluates healthcare systems on LGBTQ+ inclusion. The report does not provide further explanation for the decision.
The Medical Center’s Health Leadership Institute — a leadership training program for healthcare leaders — now no longer contains information regarding protected characteristics on its application materials, according to the report.
McIntire School of Commerce
At McIntire, the University reported revisions to undergraduate application materials. Essay prompts have been updated to focus on applicants’ academic and professional interests, and networking events affiliated with the school are now required to be open to all participants and reflect the University’s nondiscrimination policy in promotional materials.
These changes build on an update to McIntire’s admissions materials from the last compliance report. In the previous report, it noted that the school revised its graduate application essays to remove references to applicants’ background or identity, shifting instead toward prompts centered on personal, academic and professional experiences. In previous coverage, The Cavalier Daily found that archived versions of the school’s website show that earlier prompts explicitly asked applicants to reflect on how aspects of their background — including race and gender — shaped their perspective. That language has since been removed.
School of Nursing
The School of Nursing section of the report includes a correction to the University’s initial compliance filing. The earlier report stated that diversity-related criteria had been removed from faculty promotion and tenure evaluations. The March report clarifies that the changes applied instead to postdoctoral appointment evaluation materials.
As in the initial report, the University noted that the compliance review was conducted by external counsel — identified in the Office of University Counsel FAQ page as the law firm McGuireWoods LLP — but was based on materials provided by University personnel such as the dean, vice president or chanceller of each school or unit. The report said that external counsel did not independently access confidential systems or conduct investigations into past conduct, and instead focused on assessing current policies and practices.
The report was certified and signed by University President Scott Beardsley, making it the first such filing under his presidency. The previous and initial report was certified and signed by former Interim University President Paul Mahoney.
The University is required to submit quarterly compliance reports to the Justice Department through December 2028 under the terms of its agreement, with additional filings expected later this year.
The second quarterly compliance report
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