The department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said the investigations are due to allegations that the universities have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by partnering with “The Ph. D Project,” an organization that “purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants,” the agency said in a press release. The OCR is also investigating six universities for allegedly awarding race-based scholarships, and one university for allegedly facilitating a program that segregates students by race.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement:
The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination. The agency has already launched Title VI investigations into institutions where widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported and Title IX investigations into entities which allegedly continue to allow sex discrimination; today’s announcement expands our efforts to ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes.”
“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment,” she added.
The investigations also come after the OCR sent a letter on Feb. 14 to schools that receive federal funding reminding them that they must end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities. The letter cited the Supreme Court’s 2023 Students v. Harvard decision, which struck down affirmative action. It reads:
In recent years, American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families. These institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have emanated throughout every facet of academia. For example, colleges, universities, and K-12 schools have routinely used race as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring, training, and other institutional programming. In a shameful echo of a darker period in this country’s history, many American schools and universities even encourage segregation by race at graduation ceremonies and in dormitories and other facilities.
Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon “systemic and structural racism” and advanced discriminatory policies and practices. Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (“DEI”), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.
But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.
“The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions. The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent,” the letter continues. “All students are entitled to a school environment free from discrimination. The Department is committed to ensuring those principles are a reality.”
The universities under investigation are:
- Arizona State University – Main Campus
- Boise State University
- Cal Poly Humboldt
- California State University – San Bernadino
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Clemson University
- Cornell University
- Duke University
- Emory University
- George Mason University
- Georgetown University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Montana State University-Bozeman
- New York University (NYU)
- Rice University
- Rutgers University
- The Ohio State University – Main Campus
- Towson University
- Tulane University
- University of Arkansas – Fayetteville
- University of California-Berkeley
- University of Chicago
- University of Cincinnati – Main Campus
- University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
- University of Delaware
- University of Kansas
- University of Kentucky
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- University of Nebraska at Omaha
- University of New Mexico – Main Campus
- University of North Dakota – Main Campus
- University of North Texas – Denton
- University of Notre Dame
- University of NV – Las Vegas
- University of Oregon
- University of Rhode Island
- University of Utah
- University of Washington-Seattle
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- University of Wyoming
- Vanderbilt University
- Washington State University
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Yale University
The schools under investigation for alleged race-based scholarships and race-based segregation are:
- Grand Valley State University
- Ithaca College
- New England College of Optometry
- University of Alabama
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- University of South Florida
- University of Tulsa School of Medicine
The Department of Education said institutions that violate Title VI prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in education programs and activists could ultimately lose federal funds.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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