President Donald Trump’s beleaguered U.S. Department of Education has launched investigations into more than 50 universities as part of an ongoing effort to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
In a press release, the agency alleged that 45 schools had possibly engaged in “race exclusionary” practices in their graduate programs. Specifically, the agency took issue with reported partnerships with The PhD Project, an organization that uplifts underrepresented minorities so they can pursue business PhDs and become professors.
But if you ask Trump’s cronies, the organization has deployed the much more sinister practice of “limit[ing] eligibility based on the race of participants.”
Additionally, the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights is probing seven other universities on similar grounds—six for “allegedly awarding impermissible race-based scholarships” and one for “allegedly administering a program that segregates students on the basis of race.”
“The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination. Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment,” the impossibly underqualified Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon
Affected schools include Ivy League colleges, state universities, and smaller higher education institutions. Arizona State University, Duke University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, and Yale University are among those being investigated.
Given that Trump’s DOE now has fewer staff, it’s striking that the agency would dedicate its remaining resources to snuffing out DEI efforts. While the Trump administration should be spending its time ensuring that students can apply for federal loans, it has instead targeted beneficial programs.
Notably, McMahon didn’t clarify how exactly the schools in question were enforcing race-based segregation or awards.
News of the investigations comes one week after the DOE sent a “dear colleague” letter to colleges that receive federal funding, ordering them to terminate all DEI initiatives. The letter threatened funding cuts for schools not found in compliance.
“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.
Friday’s announcement is the latest escalation in Trump’s threat of pulling federal funding from colleges and universities.
And some of them are already feeling the pressure.
According to The Associated Press, Columbia University, which has been a longtime target of Trump’s, announced Thursday that it expelled and suspended some students who participated in the occupation of a campus building as part of pro-Palestinian protests last year. It also temporarily revoked degrees from some protesters.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is investigating 10 universities, including Columbia, that have “experienced antisemitic incidents” since October 2023.
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