ITHACA, N.Y. (WENY) -- The U.S. Department of Education sent letters to 60 universities across the country that are under investigation for antisemitic discrimination and harassment. Cornell University was included on the list.

According to the federal agency, the letter warned Cornell University and other schools that Title VI obligations must be fulfilled by protecting Jewish students. The letter said if the schools fail to fulfill those obligations, the academic institutions risk "enforcement action".

“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”  

The Education Department said its Office for Civil Rights sent letters under the authority to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Title VI prohibits any institution that receives federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color, and national origin.

The schools that received letters from the Office for Civil Rights include:  

  • American University 
  • Arizona State University 
  • Boston University 
  • Brown University 
  • California State University, Sacramento 
  • Chapman University 
  • Columbia University 
  • Cornell University 
  • Drexel University 
  • Eastern Washington University 
  • Emerson College 
  • George Mason University 
  • Harvard University 
  • Illinois Wesleyan University 
  • Indiana University, Bloomington 
  • Johns Hopkins University 
  • Lafayette College 
  • Lehigh University 
  • Middlebury College 
  • Muhlenberg College 
  • Northwestern University 
  • Ohio State University 
  • Pacific Lutheran University     
  • Pomona College 
  • Portland State University 
  • Princeton University 
  • Rutgers University 
  • Rutgers University-Newark
  • Santa Monica College 
  • Sarah Lawrence College 
  • Stanford University 
  • State University of New York Binghamton 
  • State University of New York Rockland 
  • State University of New York, Purchase 
  • Swarthmore College 
  • Temple University 
  • The New School 
  • Tufts University 
  • Tulane University 
  • Union College 
  • University of California Davis 
  • University of California San Diego 
  • University of California Santa Barbara 
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • University of Cincinnati 
  • University of Hawaii at Manoa 
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst 
  • University of Michigan 
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 
  • University of North Carolina 
  • University of South Florida 
  • University of Southern California 
  • University of Tampa 
  • University of Tennessee 
  • University of Virginia 
  • University of Washington-Seattle 
  • University of Wisconsin, Madison 
  • Wellesley College 
  • Whitman College 
  • Yale University