This week, Ohio State is being criticized again for allegations of race-exclusionary practices in its graduate and doctoral programs.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it is investigating 45 U.S. universities, including OSU and the University of Cincinnati, for partnering with The PhD Project.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said the universities under investigation failed to end the use of racial preferences in education after the Dear Colleague letter sent on Feb. 14, allegedly violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
"Ohio State does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity or any other protected class, and our PhD programs are open to all qualified applicants," Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson said in this Columbus Dispatch report.
Earlier this week, Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati received another warning for failing to address antisemitism on campus and protect Jewish students. The letter from the Department of Education also warns of potential law enforcement action if the universities do not protect Jewish students on campus under Title VI.
That follows a federal complaint filed last year against Ohio State for several antisemitic incidents that were reported on campus, NBC4 News reports. Three prominent Jewish organizations filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, accusing the university of failing to address reports of harassment and violence against Jewish and Israeli students.
In this latest federal investigation, NBC 4 News obtained a copy of the letter sent to OSU, which states the department received a complaint on Jan. 20 alleging OSU discriminates against students based on race and ethnicity.
The complaint alleged OSU supported a conference this school year that was only available to university students who identify as Black, Latino or Indigenous, according to NBC 4 News.
According to the letter, Ohio State has been asked to submit information about its investigation and the university’s relationship with The PhD Project by March 31.
It appears The PhD Project has been busy removing information from its website. The nonprofit organization works “to expand the pool of workplace talent by developing business school faculty who encourage, mentor, and support tomorrow’s leaders,” according to the website.
According to the National Postdoctoral Association, the Ph.D. Project is a nonprofit organization that encourages Black, Hispanic, and Native American professionals to earn business doctorate degrees.
The PhD Project’s annual conference, held in Chicago, requires an application that is reviewed by heads of doctoral programs. The event is a networking opportunity that is invitation-only, with some travel expenses paid by The PhD Project, according to the website’s FAQ page.
The PhD Project said diversity is “crucial” to businesses, and the organization “empowers our community to help business professionals and students from various backgrounds earn Ph. Ds,” according to its website and reports by NBC 4 News.
The PhD Project’s University Partners page no longer lists universities but has a university login link. The website did list Ohio State as a university partner, but a link to a page on the Max M. Fisher College of Business displays an error message stating that page is inactive, NBC 4 News reports.
NBC4 also reported that the website listed four Ohio universities that partner with the program as doctoral-granting institutions: OSU, Case Western, Kent State, and the University of Toledo. Six Ohio universities partner with The PhD Project as non-doctoral-granting institutions, including three public colleges: Bowling Green, Miami, and Ohio University.
The University of Cincinnati is not listed as a partner but is included on the Department of Education’s list. Per the Department of Education's announcement, none of the five other public Ohio universities associated with The PhD Project are under investigation.
“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.”
The U.S. Department of Education claims that partnering with such an organization is a civil right violation because it "limits eligibility based on the race of participants."
The department’s "Dear Colleague" letter gave schools an ultimatum: Eliminate "race-based decision-making" from their campuses by the end of the month or risk losing federal funding.
According to the letter, schools were told to stop considering race in "decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life. "
Ohio State also recently closed two diversity offices on campus and reorganized other DEI efforts, prompting some alumni societies to pull donations. Students and faculty organized a rally to protest the DEI cuts as well as pending state legislation to end DEI in Ohio’s higher education and encourage intellectual diversity, not indoctrination, in the classroom.
