Education department investigates University of Arkansas for possible Title VI violations
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is investigating the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville and 44 other universities to see if they broke federal rules about treating students fairly, regardless of race.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs. The Education Department has not specified which universities are under review or what prompted the investigation.
The investigation started after a Feb. 14 letter from the OCR reminding schools that they must not use race-based preferences or stereotypes in their programs. Officials are investigating whether these universities violated the law by working with "The Ph.D. Project," a program designed to help students earn a Ph.D. and connect with others in their field.
The Ph.D. Project aims to increase diversity in business academia by supporting doctoral students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. For over 30 years, the Ph.D. Project has worked to expand diversity among business school faculty by providing mentorship, networking, and resources to minority doctoral candidates. The concern is that the program may have excluded White students from participation, which could be considered discrimination.
A 2023 Forbes article reveals that 35% of doctoral students in business are people of color. Meanwhile, the 2020 U.S. Census data shows that approximately 42% of the U.S. population identifies with a non-White ethnicity.
'The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to protect all students 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 that allegedly continue to allow sex discrimination. This expands our efforts to ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes,' said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. '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 UA System includes the main campus in Fayetteville, as well as branches in Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Fort Smith and Grantham. It also operates the University of Arkansas School for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: U.S. education department investigates University of Arkansas
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