Duke must respond to the federal letter outlining concerns of race preferences across hiring, admissions and scholarship decisions. The university is being asked to create a Merit and Civil Rights Committee with authority delegated from Duke's Board of Trustees to work toward resolving the allegations.

The U.S. Education Department said on Monday its civil rights office initiated a probe into Duke University and the Duke Law Journal for allegations of race-related discrimination.

The US Education Department said Monday that it has launched an investigation of Duke University and the Duke Law Journal over allegations of civil rights violations, the latest move by the Trump administration to probe schools over their hiring and admissions processes.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that the Duke Law Journal sent a memo to minority applicants encouraging them to highlight their race and gender.