After being presented with data not shared when the initial survey went out and the University of Minnesota implementing new policies, the ADL gave a grade increase to the U in its annual report card of college campus antisemitism, moving the U from an F to a C.
In a letter sent to U of M president Rebecca Cunningham earlier this week, ADL Midwest Regional Director David Goldenberg said that Cunningham’s commitment to addressing antisemitism was invaluable.
“We are hopeful that our partnership will continue to foster positive change,” Goldenberg wrote.
Goldenberg said that the grade change was due to several factors, starting with getting answers on the survey. The school hadn’t responded to several emails or calls regarding the survey when it first went out in November.
“We had many meetings with President Cunningham and the U over the last month to give them the opportunity to share their perspective on what was going on at the school and identify opportunities for improvement,” Goldenberg said. “Based on new information we didn’t have a month ago and additional new policies the school is putting into place, We were happy to update the grade to a C.”
The U has updated its Guiding Principles of the Student Conduct Code to include banning harassment “based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, and citizenship or residency in any country, including Israel and the Arab world countries. This includes, for example, antisemitic and Islamophobic discrimination or harassment.
In a statement, the University of Minnesota said the school is “Resolute in its commitment to systemic change and cross-campus collaboration to combat hate and bias. Our focus remains on engaging our University community to proactively address concerns and continued efforts to promptly and fully address any reports of harassment, intimidation, or bias against Jewish students, faculty and staff — or any other members of our University community — in keeping with our University values, policies, and responsibility under the law.
Goldenberg said the policies and practices of the school now reflect the commitment that Cunningham is making.
“They were so far behind, but it’s clear she’s committed,” he said. “She’s set a different tone on day one, and now we are all focused on making sure the U’s policies and practices reflect the commitment. There is no reason why the U can’t be a model for the rest of the country.”
In its statement, the school said it has gained “invaluable insights through our partnership with Minnesota Hillel, the Hillel International Campus Climate Initiative, and ongoing engagement with Jewish community members about their unique perspectives and experiences,” and will “include a required module on antisemitism for all instructors as part of the University’s inclusive teaching and prevention training, inclusion of standalone antisemitism metrics in the 2026 Campus Climate Survey, and the creation of a dedicated Jewish Alumni Network.”
In a letter to the school community last month, Cunningham said that she had learned that the school did not provide updated information when the ADL had inquired. Cunningham wrote that the school was working with the ADL to address the issues that led to the failing grade, taking advantage of a grace period that the ADL has to allow schools to offer information to correct issues.
While giving an excellent rating to Jewish life on campus – citing Hillel, Chabad, and Jewish Greek life – the ADL’s initial report said that publicly disclosed administrative actions were below expectations, and the campus conduct and climate concerns were rated “high.” In the update, the publicly disclosed administrative actions were upgraded to “above expectations.”
The ADL survey was conducted in the fall 2024 semester. The grade was weighted based on the polling of school policies and antisemitic incidents (31.5 percent each), Jewish campus life (27 percent), and a “qualitative assessment” – evaluating how well universities enforce policies, engage Jewish communities, and respond to real-world incidents – making up the remaining 10 percent. Only incidents occurring between April 1 and December 31, 2024, were recorded.
Nationwide, 36 percent of schools were graded an A or B, up from 23.5 percent in 2024; 9.6 percent of schools received an F. The ADL did not say how many schools have been regraded.
On March 21, Cunningham and other leaders met with ADL leaders from the Midwest Region office in Chicago to discuss the report card. A few days later, she addressed the meeting at the kickoff for the university’s participation in the current cohort of Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative.
“I think it was a little bit of a disheartening time when that report came out,” Cunningham said on March 24, acknowledging that there’s more work the school can do to address antisemitism. “I regret that we did not submit that report, which then reflected poorly for having the grade that it was, which then did reflect the great work that this community has done together over the past year.”
Cunningham said that she hoped an improved grade would help the community see the work that’s taken place to improve the climate for Jewish students.
“We want to be also seen publicly as a welcoming place for Jewish students who are looking to attend the university, and faculty who are looking to come here,” she said. “[They can] feel that there really has been good work done here, and there will continue to be good work done here,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham started in the role on July 1, 2024, taking over after a particularly fraught spring of pro-Palestinian protests and graffiti that often veered into antisemitic with calls for intifada and the glorifying of Hamas and other terrorist organizations. At the August 2024 Board of Regents meeting, Cunningham addressed some of the issues of how protests were taking place by reiterating the school’s policy.
“The University is firmly committed to academic freedom, freedom of expression, and the rights of students, faculty, and staff to express their views in the community. Core to this commitment is free, open, and respectful dialogue, regardless of viewpoint,” Cunningham said during her report at the August Board of Regents meeting. “Every member of the University community has this right and the accompanying responsibility not to interfere with or impede upon the rights of others to speak, study, teach, work and learn.”
As part of the report, Cunningham wrote that using tents, damaging University property or grounds – including graffiti and stickers – and interfering with classes, research, work, or other University operations, were not permitted.
“These policies are not new, and they were not altered at all in response to the events of last spring or last year,” she said. “These are existing university policies.”
The guidelines on spontaneous civic engagement include time, place and manner restrictions. The restrictions come from a unanimous 1941 Supreme Court ruling that, although the government cannot regulate the contents of speech, it can place reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on speech for public safety.
Goldenberg said the purpose of the report card is to not only assess the entire campus environment for Jewish students, including the robustness of Jewish life on campus and the prevalence of incidents and problematic activities on campus, but also to help ensure that policies go beyond current school administrations.
“We know at universities, presidents and provosts come and go,” he said. “That is why we want to embed policies and practices that ultimately can transcend administrations.”
Interesting to see how the ADL grades the U of MN. Perhaps a more pressing question, how do we grade the ADL?