The University of Virginia signed a four-page agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to pause five investigations in return for adopting the administration’s July guidance limiting diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Interim President Paul Mahoney described the pact as "the best available path forward," while the DOJ said it will close probes if UVA completes reforms by Dec. 31, 2028. Faculty and some lawmakers blasted the deal as capitulation; nursing professor Kimberly Acquaviva publicly called it a betrayal of the university’s independence. The agreement does not require UVA to admit wrongdoing, nor does it impose external monitors, but it will require quarterly compliance reports to the DOJ—a potential template for future federal leverage over public institutions. This development signals a new phase of federal engagement in campus policy, where settlements and conditional reopenings of funding and investigations are shaping institutional governance.