By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
August 15, 2025
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is increasing the pressure on the University of Notre Dame and Butler University to comply with his demand that they provide information about their diversity, equity and inclusion policies and practices, but his most recent letters to the universities’ presidents indicate the schools may be resisting.
Rokita announced Thursday that he had issued civil investigative demands to Notre Dame and Butler because they had not produced the reports, communications, handbooks and other such documents he had requested earlier this year regarding their DEI programs. In letters sent this month to the Rev. Robert Dowd, president of Notre Dame, and James Danko, president of Butler, Rokita wrote that the schools’ assurances of compliance with civil rights laws were not adequate responses to his inquiries, because they had not provided any materials supporting their claims.
“Notre Dame and Butler were given ample time to address the concerns of many by responding to questions about their DEI practices, but they failed to provide anything meaningful,” Rokita said in a press release, without identifying who has been expressing concerns regarding DEI. “Publicly available materials in which the universities describe their race-conscious policies and practices are troubling and raise serious questions about whether they treat their students, faculty, and staff differently based on race or skin color.”
In separate statements, Notre Dame and Butler pushed back on the attorney general’s allegations of racial discrimination. They cited their commitments to treating everyone fairly, regardless of race or ethnicity and they asserted that they follow the rule of law.
“As a faith-based institution driven by its religious values, Notre Dame strives to treat every member of our community in a manner consistent with our firmly held Catholic beliefs,” the South Bend-based university said. “At the heart of these beliefs is the recognition that we are all children of God, deserving of dignity and respect from one another. We are likewise committed to the rule of law. Accordingly, Notre Dame does not discriminate based on race or ethnicity.”
Indianapolis-based Butler echoed several of Notre Dame’s assertions.
“We stand by the response we submitted on June 27, which affirmed that Butler University does not treat individuals differently based on race or ethnicity,” the school said. “We are committed to ensuring that our policies and practices comply with federal and state laws. Butler remains committed to our founding mission of providing equal access to education for all and fostering a learning environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed.”
In May of this year, Rokita sent letters to Notre Dame, Butler and DePauw University regarding each school’s DEI practices. He asked the colleges for a massive amount of information, including documents and communications regarding hiring and admissions practices, all drafts and materials used in preparing DEI policies, actions taken to measure and evaluate the impact of DEI programs and employee performance, and the allocation of funds on DEI initiatives.
Rokita noted in his Thursday announcement that his office was still reviewing DePauw’s response and had not sent the Greencastle-based university a civil investigative demand. DePauw declined to respond to a request for comment about the ongoing review and, instead, pointed to its previous statement in which it said, “We uphold high ethical standards and do not engage in unlawful discrimination in our admissions and hiring practices.
Civil rights attorneys have countered that Rokita’s interpretation of civil rights laws is flawed. They said the attorney general is perpetuating the false allegation that DEI programs are discriminating against white people by advancing a legal analysis that is contrary to the wording and purpose of civil rights statutes.
In his latest announcement, Rokita defended his actions, saying racial discrimination of any kind violates “fundamental moral and legal principles” of state law. Also, he seemed to threaten the universities’ financial stability by noting their nonprofit status may be jeopardized if they “pursue race-based DEI initiatives.”
Rokita’s recent civil investigative demand letters provide some clues that Notre Dame and Butler have been resisting his earlier request for information.
The tone of the CID letter sent to Notre Dame on Aug 6 was respectful with Rokita saying he appreciated the contributions Notre Dame has made to the state and the country. However, he indicated the university may have made a religious freedom argument for allegedly not providing all of the information the attorney general had requested.
Rokita described himself as a “staunch defender” of religious freedom, but said Notre Dame’s religious mission does not excuse it from complying with civil rights laws. In addition, he noted the university is a nonprofit institution and cited unsupported allegations while accusing Notre Dame of conducting racially segregated graduation ceremonies and attempting to recruit faculty ”of a certain race.”
“Notre Dame’s religious mission does not grant the University a license to discriminate on the basis of race, and the critically important First Amendment right to free exercise of religion – of which I am, as you note, a staunch defender – does not bar my office from vindicating the state’s ‘fundamental, overriding interest in eradicating racial discrimination in education,” Rokita wrote, citing to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1983 ruling in Bob Jones Univ. v. United States.
The CID letter sent to Butler on Aug. 13 had a much sharper tone. In the letter, Rokita revealed the university’s lawyer suggested the attorney general’s office does not have the authority to investigate “potential legal violations committed by a private nonprofit university.” He replied that assertion was incorrect.
Rokita claimed he has the power of enforcement under Indiana’s nonprofit statute. Also, he told Butler he had the authority to take enforcement action under the Indiana False Claims Act and the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.
“Butler’s status as a private, nonprofit university does not grant the University a license to discriminate on the basis of race and does not place the University outside the scope of the Attorney General’s investigative authority,” Rokita wrote in his CID letter. “Indeed, it is because, as a nonprofit and an educational institution, Butler is supposed to provide a public benefit to the state that the University’s compliance with civil rights laws is critically important.”
The attorney general directed Notre Dame to respond to the CID by Aug. 27 and gave Butler a deadline of Sept. 3.
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
