HUD launches probe into race-based dorm programs at two federal universities
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened investigations into University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Nevada, Reno over housing arrangements that group students by race or other identities.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing office has begun formal investigations into two federally funded campuses after the Equal Protection Project lodged complaints alleging discriminatory housing practices. At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which obtained more than $322 million in federal funds in fiscal year 2024, five “Defined Residential Communities” group students by Asian/Asian-American, disability, Latinx, Black (Harambee) and non-straight identities.
The University of Nevada, Reno, receiving over $520 million in active federal awards, runs “Living Learning Communities” that similarly separate residents by Asian-Pacific Islander, Black, LGBT, Indigenous and Latinx identities, with floors dedicated to each group. The complaints assert that such steering breaches the Fair Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. HUD officials indicated the probe must be completed by Nov. 6, per statutory timelines. UNR issued a statement emphasizing that the communities are voluntary and open to all students, pledging cooperation with any inquiry; UMass Amherst did not reply to the outlet’s request for comment.
Why it matters
The probe could force major universities to change housing policies that may violate federal civil-rights law.
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