North Texas, Rice among universities targeted in federal DEI investigations

WASHINGTON - Two universities in Texas are among dozens being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education over alleged race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs.

The University of North Texas in Denton and Rice University in Houston were among 45 schools named in a memo Friday from the agency.

The move comes after the agency's Office for Civil Rights sent schools a "Dear Colleague" letter on Feb. 14. 

In the letter, officials warned schools and colleges they could lose federal money over "race-based preferences" in admissions, scholarships or any aspect of student life.

President Donald Trump and other critics of DEI programs say they exclude white and Asian American students.

Why are the universities under investigation? 

Most of the new investigations 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. The Education Department accuses the nonprofit of limiting eligibility "based on the race of the participants," and says colleges that partner with it are "engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs."

What they're saying:

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

Officials with Rice University declined to comment.

The University of North Texas has not yet returned a request for comment.

The backstory:

The Feb. 14 memo was a sweeping expansion of a 2023 Supreme Court decision that barred colleges from using race as a factor in admissions.

That decision focused on admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, but the Education Department said it will interpret the decision to forbid race-based policies in any aspect of education, both in K-12 schools and higher education.

In the memo, Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, had said schools’ and colleges' diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have been "smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming and discipline.

The memo is being challenged in federal lawsuits from the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions. The suits say the memo is too vague and violates the free speech rights of educators.

What schools are being investigated?

In total, 45 colleges and universities are being investigated by the Department of Education over its ties to PhD Project:

• 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 at Colorado  
• 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 

Six other colleges are being investigated for awarding "impermissible race-based scholarships," the department said, and another is accused of running a program that segregates students on the basis of race.

The department did not say which of the seven listed below is being investigated for allegations of segregation.

• Grand Valley State University   
• Ithaca College  
• New England College of Optometry   
• University of Alabama  
• University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 
• University of South Florida  
• University of Tulsa School of Medicine