University of South Florida among 50 universities probed for DEI by Department of Education

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More than 50 universities are being investigated for alleged racial discrimination as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs that his officials say exclude white and Asian American students.

One of them: the University of South Florida.

The Education Department announced the new investigations Friday, one month after issuing a memo warning America’s schools and colleges that they could lose federal money over “race-based preferences” in admissions, scholarships or any aspect of student life.

“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “We will not yield on this commitment.”

Most of the new inquiries (but not the one into USF) are focused on colleges’ partnerships with the PhD Project, a nonprofit that helps students from underrepresented groups get degrees in business with the goal of diversifying the business world.

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 group of 45 colleges facing scrutiny over ties to the PhD Project include major public universities such as Arizona State, Ohio State and Rutgers, along with prestigious private schools like Yale, Cornell, Duke and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 In a statement, the PhD Project said it aims to “create a broader talent pipeline of current and future business leaders who are committed to excellence and to each other.”

“This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision,” it said.

Arizona State said the business school is not financially supporting the PhD Project this year, and on Feb. 20, told faculty that the school would not support travel to the nonprofit’s conference.

A statement from Ohio State said the university “does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity or any other protected class, and our PhD programs are open to all qualified applicants.”

Six other colleges are being investigated for awarding “impermissible race-based scholarships,” the department said. Those schools are: Grand Valley State University, Ithaca College, the New England College of Optometry, the University of Alabama, USF, and the University of Oklahoma at Tulsa.

An initial press release from the Education Department erroneously identified the University of Tulsa as one of the schools under investigation.

Additionally, the University of Minnesota is being investigated for allegedly operating a program that segregates students on the basis of race, the department said.

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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.