UPDATE, 4 p.m.: Cal Poly Humboldt sends the following statement about the matter:

The CSU has recently learned of the investigations and will be reviewing and seeking to understand the nature of the claim and will cooperate with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights in any investigation. The CSU continues to comply with longstanding applicable federal and state laws and CSU policies and does not discriminate or provide preferences on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. CSU remains committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable learning environment that is open to all. CSU respects the diverse opinions and viewpoints of our students, staff and faculty.

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ORIGINAL POST: 

In a press release issued this morning, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it was launching civil rights investigations into dozens of universities across the county, including Cal Poly Humboldt, for alleged racial discrimination.

In most of those cases, including the local one, the universities stand accused of working with The Ph.D Project, a nonprofit network that works to help Black, Latino and Native American students acquire their doctoral degrees.

According to the Department of Education, The Ph.D. Project limits its resources to people from those backgrounds, and therefore university participation in the program violates the Civil Rights Act.

Last month, Craig Trainor, the Department of Education’s acting assistant secretary sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to universities across the nation, warning that federal funding may be withheld from universities found to engage in any “discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin.”

That letter read, in part:

In recent years, American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families. These institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have emanated throughout every facet of academia.

The Outpost has reached out to Cal Poly Humboldt for comment, and we’ll update when we hear back.

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Today’s ress release from the U.S. Department of Education:

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened investigations into 45 universities under Title VI following OCR’s February 14 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) that reiterated schools’ civil rights obligations to end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities. 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.

OCR is also investigating six universities for allegedly awarding impermissible race-based scholarships and one university for allegedly administering a program that segregates students on the basis of race.

“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,” 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 universities now under investigation for allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs include:

• 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

The schools under investigation for alleged impermissible race-based scholarships and race-based segregation are:

• 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 Oklahoma, Tulsa School of Community Medicine

Background:

On February 14, OCR sent a Dear Colleague Letter to educational institutions receiving federal funding clarifying that, pursuant to federal antidiscrimination law, they must cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, sanctions, discipline, and other programs and activities. On March 1, the Department released FAQs to anticipate and answer questions that may have arisen in response to the DCL.

These OCR investigations are being conducted pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in education programs and activities receiving federal funding. Institutions’ violation of Title VI can result in loss of federal funds.