Politics
University of Chicago Among Dozens of Schools Facing Federal Investigation Over DEI Programs
The campus of University of Chicago is pictured in a file photo. (Jacob Boomsma / iStock)
The federal Department of Education has launched investigations into allegations of racial discrimination against the University of Chicago, Notre Dame and dozens of other schools amid the Trump Administration’s efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The department’s Office for Civil Rights on Friday announced it has begun investigating 45 universities for failing to follow their “civil rights obligations to end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.”
That office is also looking into six universities for allegedly awarding “impermissible race-based scholarships” and one university for allegedly administering a program that segregates students on the basis of race.
“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “We will not yield on this commitment.”
A spokesperson for UChicago did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
Most of the new inquiries are focused on colleges’ partnerships with the PhD Project, a nonprofit that helps students from underrepresented groups get degrees in business with the goal of diversifying the business world.
Department officials said that the group limits eligibility based on race and that colleges that partner with it are “engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs.”
The investigations come after the Office for Civil Rights last month issued a memo to “clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations of schools and other entities that receive federal financial assistance from the United States Department of Education.”
That decision focused on admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, but the Education Department said it will interpret the decision to forbid race-based policies in any aspect of education, both in K-12 schools and higher education.
The announcement Friday comes days after McMahon’s department threatened 60 universities — including Northwestern and Illinois Wesleyan — with “potential enforcement actions” if they fail to protect Jewish students on their campuses.
“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,” McMahon said. “(T)oday’s announcement expands our efforts to ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes.”
The Education Department this week also announced plans to lay off some 1,300 employees, or about half its total workforce, as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
