University of Utah among 45 colleges under federal investigation

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah is counted among 45 American universities under investigation by the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights for allegedly using "racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities."

In a Friday release, the Department of Education said the investigation comes amid allegations that the University of Utah and the other 44 institutions "have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964) 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 Ph.D. Project is a nonprofit that helps students from underrepresented groups get degrees in business with the goal of diversifying the business world, according to The Associated Press.

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 Deseret News has reached out to the University of Utah for a response to the DOE investigation.

Friday's news of the DOE's investigation — which includes many of the most elite colleges in the country — comes days after the agency announced that 60 higher education institutions were being investigated for "antisemitic discrimination and harassment."

No Utah schools are part of that nationwide investigation.

Newly confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Friday that the DOE 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," McMahon said. "Today's announcement expands our efforts to ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes"

Students, she added, "must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin.

"We will not yield on this commitment."

Besides the University of Utah, the schools under investigation for "allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs" are a veritable "who's who" of storied academic institutions, including: Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of California-Berkeley, University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon University, Vanderbilt and Yale.

Meanwhile, the DOE is also investigating 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."

No Utah schools are included in that investigation.

The 'Dear Colleague Letter'

Last month, the DOE's Office for Civil Rights sent a letter to educational institutions receiving federal funding.

According to Friday's DOE release, the "Dear Colleague Letter" clarified that, pursuant to federal anti-discrimination law, "they must cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, sanctions, discipline, and other programs and activities."

Signed by the DOE's Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor, the letter began, saying "discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is illegal and morally reprehensible.

"Accordingly, I write to clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations of schools and other entities that receive federal financial assistance from the United States Department of Education."

Trainor's letter goes on to say that, 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."

Such educational institutions, the letter added, have embraced "pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have emanated throughout every facet of academia."

Colleges, universities and K-12 schools, the letter alleges, 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," the letter states.

Trainor also writes that educational institutions have "toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise" that the United States is built upon "systemic and structural racism" while advancing 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" — smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline," according to the letter.

Trainor's letter concludes, saying the DOE will not tolerate "overt and covert racial discrimination" in American educational institutions.

"The law is clear," the letter added. "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,"

He signs off near the bottom of his letter with a warning: "Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding."

The letter is being challenged in federal lawsuits from the nation's two largest teachers' unions. The suits say the memo is too vague and violates the free speech rights of educators, the AP reported.

DOE responds to alleged campus antisemitism

Earlier this week, the DOE's Office of Civil Rights sent letters to 60 colleges and universities warning of "potential enforcement actions" if they do not "fulfill their obligations under the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act" to protect Jewish students on campus.

No Utah schools were included on that letter list.

The letters, the release noted, are addressed to all U.S. universities that are presently under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination.

"The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better," said McMahon.

"U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws."

The list of schools receiving letters is broad, and includes several of the country's most storied and powerful higher education institutions — including Johns Hopkins University, Stanford, Brown, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Wisconsin (Madison), and Yale.

In February, the DOE's Office for Civil Rights said five colleges — Columbia, Northwestern, Portland State, the University of California (Berkeley) and the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) — were under direct investigation following reports of "widespread antisemitic harassment."

And earlier this month, $400 million in federal grants and contracts to New York's Columbia University were canceled "due to the school's continued inaction to protect Jewish students from discrimination."

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