The Education Department announced Friday it is investigating more than 50 colleges and universities over what it called “racial preferences” in academics or scholarships, a move that comes amid the Trump administration’s wider crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The department said 45 schools are under investigation for partnering with the Ph.D Project, which it says is “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.”
Seven more schools are under investigation for “alleged impermissible race-based scholarships and race-based segregation.”
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The list includes Ivy League schools, state universities and smaller institutions of higher education. Among those investigated are Yale University, the University of Kentucky, Ithaca College, the University of Alabama, the University of Chicago, the University of South Florida and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is accusing the institutions of violating Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race in education.
The investigations come after the department sent a Dear Colleague letter on Feb. 14 telling universities to get rid of DEI.
The letter said schools found not in compliance will receive funding cuts.
“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 said.
The administration has made clear that colleges and universities will be prime targets during President Trump’s second term.
