Latest news with #Ph.D.Project
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vanderbilt University among higher education institutions under investigation by the Office for Civil Rights
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Vanderbilt University is one of dozens of institutions of higher education being investigated by the Office for Civil Rights for allegedly continuing 'the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.' University of Tennessee among 60 colleges warned of 'potential enforcement actions' over antisemitism claims On Friday, the OCR announced the investigation was launched amid allegations that the universities violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by partnering with The Ph.D. Project. According to the organization's About Us page on their website, The Ph.D. Project has 'the goal of creating more role models in the front of business classrooms.' The OCR claimed that although the organization claims to provide doctoral students with resources and networking opportunities, the Ph.D. Project 'limits eligibility based on the race of participants.' The Ph.D. Project sent the following statement to News 2: '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. 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.' The OCR said the department had sent a Dear Colleague Letter to these institutions of higher education on Feb. 14 'to clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations of schools and other entities that receive federal financial assistance from the United States Department of Education.' 'The Department 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; today's announcement expands our efforts to ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes,' U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said. 'Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment.' Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Lipscomb land NCAA Tournament bids Institutions found in violation of Title VI could lose federal funding. News 2 has reached out to Vanderbilt University for comment, but as of publication, there has not been a response. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Takes Aim At B-School Faculty Diversity
Business schools had largely been flying under the radar in the first months of the Trump administration as the new president waged a culture war on diversity programs at universities and colleges across the United States. That changed significantly in the last two weeks. Days after the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business drew heavy criticism for capitulating to pressure in replacing 'diversity and inclusion' with 'community and connectedness' in its guiding principles for accredited schools, the administration's Department of Education on Friday announced an investigation into a program sponsored by the AACSB that promotes racial diversity in B-school faculty — as well as 45 universities and their business schools that are involved in it. The schools targeted by the investigation into the Ph.D. Project for allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs include Yale University, Cornell University, MIT, NYU, the University of Michigan, the Ohio State University and the University of California Berkeley. (See the full list below.) The Ph.D. Project has spent 30 years working to increase the number of underrepresented faculty in U.S. business schools, marking its three-decade anniversary in July of 2024. Its founding partners are KPMG, the global network of audit, tax, and advisory services firms; AACSB; and the Graduate Management Admission Council, the global association of leading graduate B-schools that administers the Graduate Management Admission Test, which remains the world's most widely used graduate business school assessment. LinkedIn is among the business partners that help finance the program, according to a report in The New York Times. Since its launch in 1994, the program has 'helped increase the number of Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American, and Native American professors, administrators, and academic leaders at colleges and universities from 294 to 1,700,' according to information available on the project's website. Of those 1,700, 1,303 are currently teaching at institutions of higher learning. 'Additionally, close to 250 members are currently enrolled in business Ph.D. programs and about 50 new student members join the Project each year. These success stories are powered by a vast network of partners, including more than 300 doctoral- and non-doctoral-granting institutions, over 40 professional associations, and dozens of corporations.' 'The Ph.D. Project is the most successful social impact initiative I've ever seen. I know this model works because I saw it play out in my own life,' says Ph.D. Project member and former AASCB board member Ian Williamson, who is dean of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. He continues, 'This organization is addressing a big problem today: the lack of representation in business and people studying business. We believe that when you change the people in front of the classroom, you can change the people who attend the class. The 'Role Model Effect' is extraordinarily powerful because it's built upon strong science around self-efficacy.' That doesn't sit well with President Donald Trump, whose campaign to stamp out diversity, equity, and inclusion policies caused the AACSB earlier this week to reframe its once-loud embrace of diversity and inclusion, leading to charges that the accrediting body had suffered a 'failure of leadership.' Trump's administration opposes any effort to give assistance to one racial group over another. '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,' recently confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in announcing the investigation into the 45 schools. 'We will not yield on this commitment.' The Times reports that the Ph.D. Project responded to the announcement of the investigation with a statement saying that it had opened its process to anyone regardless of race or ethnicity, thus complying with the administration's mandate to eliminate diversity preferences. The universities now under investigation for allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs are: Arizona State University – Main Campus Boise State University Cal Poly Humboldt California State University – San Bernadino Carnegie Mellon University Clemson University Cornell University Duke University Emory University George Mason University Georgetown University Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Montana State University-Bozeman New York University (NYU) Rice University Rutgers University The Ohio State University – Main Campus Towson University Tulane University University of Arkansas – Fayetteville University of California-Berkeley University of Chicago University of Cincinnati – Main Campus University of Colorado – Colorado Springs University of Delaware University of Kansas University of Kentucky University of Michigan-Ann Arbor University of Minnesota-Twin Cities University of Nebraska at Omaha University of New Mexico – Main Campus University of North Dakota – Main Campus University of North Texas – Denton University of Notre Dame University of NV – Las Vegas University of Oregon University of Rhode Island University of Utah University of Washington-Seattle University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wyoming Vanderbilt University Washington State University Washington University in St. Louis Yale University DON'T MISS The post Trump Takes Aim At B-School Faculty Diversity appeared first on Poets&Quants.
Axios
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Feds probe alleged "race-exclusionary practices" at UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley is one of 45 schools under investigation over allegations that they participated in "race-exclusionary practices" in their graduate programs, the Department of Education said Friday. Why it matters: It's the latest attempt by the Trump administration to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which have been repeatedly targeted since Trump came into office. The letter comes after the department warned 60 colleges, including UC Berkeley and Stanford, that their federal funds could be cut if they don't address allegations of antisemitic harassment on campus. Driving the news: The department said in a statement it was investigating the 45 schools for potentially violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which obliges schools that receive federal funds to provide students with an environment free of discrimination based on race, color or national origin. The department claimed the schools may have violated the law by partnering with the organization The Ph.D. Project, which "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 department is also investigating six colleges for allegedly awarding "race-based scholarships" and another for "administering a program that segregates students on the basis of race." The other side: UC Berkeley did not immediately return a request for comment. Between the lines: Framing schools' DEI programs, which are meant to provide equal opportunities for students of color, as "race-exclusionary" also aligns with some Trump allies' desire to reinterpret Civil Rights-era laws to focus on "anti-white racism" rather than discrimination against people of color, Axios' Alex Thompson has reported. The big picture: The Trump administration's targeting of DEI practices comes after the Supreme Court in 2023 overturned affirmative action in college admissions. Trump's White House has also targeted the use of diversity and affirmative action practices in the federal government.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYU targeted in federal investigation of DEI programs in higher education
The U.S. Education Department's emaciated civil rights arm launched an investigation into New York University and dozens of other colleges across the country on Friday, as part of the Trump administration's campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The federal agency accused NYU of engaging in 'race-exclusionary practices' in its graduate programs. President Trump's son Barron is an undergraduate student at the college. 'The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination,' said U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon in a statement, pointing to ongoing probes related to pro-Palestinian campus protests and transgender students. 'Today's announcement expands our efforts to ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes.' The inquiry came a month after the Education Department warned that it could pull the federal funding of any universities that continue diversity programming. But as a Feb. 28 deadline came and went, few New York colleges made significant changes. More recently, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued joint guidance with other state attorneys general, notifying schools that Trump's attempts so far to ban DEI programs were on shaky legal ground. The federal government's anti-DEI directive is currently facing court action from the nation's two largest teachers' unions. The federal investigation takes aim at NYU's partnership with an organization called The Ph.D. Project, which provides doctoral students with support obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities. The Education Department said the program 'limits eligibility based on the race of participants.' The Ph.D. Project, which has operated for three decades with little controversy, reaffirmed its mission to create a broader talent pipeline of business professionals through mentorship, events and other means. This year, the organization opened its membership application to 'anyone who shares that vision.' 'The Ph.D. Project was founded with the goal of providing more role models in the front of business classrooms, which remains our goal today,' read a statement. An NYU spokesman would not comment on the record. The investigation's launch comes as the Education Department moved to fire about half of its workforce, including the closure of the civil right division's regional headquarters in New York City. A department spokeswoman has insisted civil rights personnel would continue to investigate complaints and enforce laws. With Daily News Wire Services
