RALEIGH — The U.S. Department of Education has notified 45 universities and colleges — including one in North Carolina — that they are the subject of civil rights investigations involving the “use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.”
“The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
The notifications follow a Feb. 14 Dear Colleague Letter notifying educational institutions that receive federal funding that they must end use of racial preferences across all aspects of their operations, including admissions, scholarships, hiring and more.
“The investigations come amid allegations that these 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,” reads the March 14 press release issued by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
In the press release, McMahon noted the agency is already investigating schools for engaging in antisemitic harassment and sexual discrimination.
“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin,” McMahon said. “We will not yield on this commitment.”
In addition to the 45 schools that are allegedly using “race-exclusionary practices” in their graduate programs, another seven schools are being investigated for “alleged impermissible race-based scholarships and race-based segregation.”
Duke University is named among the 45 schools on the list.
Last fall, Students For Fair Admissions (SFFA) issued a letter to Kim Taylor, Duke’s vice president and general counsel, accusing the school of circumventing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in SFFA v. Harvard, which effectively ended race-based admissions with “narrow restrictions” left in place.
The University of North Carolina and Harvard were the subjects of the lawsuit filed by SFFA.
“Your college just reported its admissions data for the Class of 2028 — the first class admitted after Harvard,” SFFA wrote. “Compared to the Class of 2027 (when you explicitly gave racial preferences to African Americans and Hispanics), you now have fewer Asian Americans. Your Class of 2028 is 29% Asian American, a decrease of 6 percentage points.”
SFFA’s letter also said Duke’s “racial numbers are not possible under true race neutrality.” Similar letters were also sent to Princeton and Yale.
“For the last 30 years, The PhD Project has worked to expand the pool of workplace talent by developing business school faculty who inspire, mentor, and support tomorrow’s leaders,” the group said in a statement to North State Journal regarding the investigation. “Our vision is to create a broader talent pipeline of current and future business leaders who are committed to excellence and to each other, through networking, mentorship, and unique events. This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision. The PhD Project was founded with the goal of providing more role models in the front of business classrooms, which remains our goal today.”
Duke University has not replied to a North State Journal inquiry.
