Trump administration targets UNT in a federal civil rights investigation. Here’s why.
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The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said it is investigating the University of North Texas and nearly four dozen other schools for engaging in “race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs.”
The department said Friday it believes the 45 universities are violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by being involved with a relatively small project that aims to promote racial diversity at business schools. The investigation is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to rid institutions of “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs.
The target of the investigation is “The PhD Project,” an organization that “purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a PhD and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants,” according to the Department of Education. Rice University is also on the list.
UNT said in a statement to the Star-Telegram that it is not involved with The PhD Project.
“The University of North Texas has received formal notice of the investigations and is fully cooperating. UNT is not affiliated with The PhD Project,” the statement said.
The Department of Education also said it is 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.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that 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,” McMahon said.
In January, The PhD Project’s “about us” section on its website said the organization was founded in 1994 with the “goal of diversifying corporate America by diversifying the role models in the front of classrooms,” according to internet archives. It also included how the organization has helped increase “the number of historically underrepresented business professors in the U.S., from 294 in 1994 to over 1,700 today,” which was first reported by the Texas Tribune.
Now its ”about us” page says it was founded with the “goal of creating more role models in the front of business classrooms.”
The investigation comes after the Department of Education warned in a February policy letter that “under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.”
The letter cited the Supreme Court’s 2023 landmark decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which established that most race-based admissions programs are unconstitutional. The ruling extends beyond just admissions, wrote Craig Trainor, assistant secretary for civil rights for the Department of Education.
This means schools receiving federal funding cannot use race in decisions pertaining to “admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life,” Trainor wrote in the letter.
The department gave schools two weeks to comply with the law or risk losing federal funding.
Kelly Benjamin, a spokesperson for the American Association of University Professors, called the policy letter “unprecedented” and said it would cause schools to self-censorship in how they support and celebrate students.
The letter is not federal law, he said, “but what it does is signal that we’re coming for you.”
Karma Chávez is an executive committee member of the UT Austin chapter of the American Association of University Professors. She said the Department of Education is taking an overly “expansive” view of the Supreme Court decision, which was about admissions, not student organizations, housing or graduation ceremonies.
The Texas Legislature in 2023 adopted Senate Bill 17, which prohibits public colleges and universities from establishing or maintaining DEI offices, mandating diversity training for staff, or requiring statements of commitment to diversity.
Tarrant County College last year canceled Abrazando al Exito, an annual event to celebrate and inspire Latino students, due to fears of violating SB17.
Schools and parents at Keller ISD and Carroll ISD have clashed over library books containing material about race and racism, sex and sexuality.
Chávez said people should be free to learn whatever they want to learn and make those decisions for themselves.
“I think everyone needs to be deeply concerned about what education is going to look like going forward,” Chávez said.
