2,044 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
Standing Record home The Standing Record A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —
and the events that erode them.

U.S. Department of Education pressured 31 universities to end partnerships with minority doctoral-support nonprofit PhD Project

On February 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights announced that its Title VI investigation into the PhD Project — a nonprofit that helps racial minorities earn doctoral degrees — had led 31 universities, including Arizona State, Ohio State, Michigan, Yale, Duke, and MIT, to sign resolution agreements ending their partnerships with the group, with 14 more schools in negotiations. OCR opened the investigation in March 2025, asserting that PhD Project membership "unlawfully limits eligibility based on the race of participants" and warning participating schools they risked losing federal funding. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon called the agreements "the Trump effect in action."

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

On February 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that its Title VI investigation into the PhD Project — a nonprofit that connects racial-minority doctoral candidates with academic and corporate networks — had produced resolution agreements with 31 universities to end their partnerships with the group, with 14 additional schools still in negotiations. The 31 schools included major public research universities such as Arizona State, Ohio State, and the University of Michigan, alongside private institutions including Yale, Duke, MIT, Emory, and the University of Chicago.

OCR opened the investigation into 45 institutions in March 2025, arguing that the PhD Project "unlawfully limits eligibility based on the race of participants" and that any university partnering with it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars race-based discrimination in federally funded programs. The department warned participating schools they risked losing federal funding, and required each of the 31 universities to review its other partnerships with outside organizations for similar race-based eligibility criteria.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon called the resolution agreements "the Trump effect in action," saying they showed institutions "recommitting themselves to abiding by federal law." Several universities said they severed ties defensively — to avoid entanglement with the administration — while disputing that they had done anything wrong; MIT's resolution agreement explicitly stated it did not admit liability, wrongdoing, or a Title VI violation. The PhD Project said in a statement that its mission remained "providing more role models in the front of business classrooms."

Why we recorded this

Civil-rights enforcement exists to protect people from discrimination, not to dismantle organizations that support historically underrepresented groups. The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights used its Title VI investigative authority and the threat of federal-funding loss to pressure 31 universities into ending partnerships with the PhD Project, a nonprofit that helps racial minorities earn doctorates — several schools said they complied defensively, without conceding wrongdoing, simply to avoid entanglement with the administration. Turning federal civil-rights investigative power into a coercive campaign against a group that serves a protected class, rather than adjudicating a specific violation on its merits, converts an enforcement tool meant to guard against discrimination into an instrument for suppressing race-conscious support programs.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights Secures 31 Agreements with Colleges and Universities to End Partnerships with The Ph.D. Project — U.S. Department of Education primary accessed August 13, 2026
  2. 31 Colleges Agree to End Partnerships With PhD Project — Inside Higher Ed investigative accessed August 13, 2026
  3. White House pressure leads universities to cut ties with nonprofit that helps racial minorities — Los Angeles Times secondary accessed August 13, 2026
  4. White House pressure leads universities to cut ties with nonprofit that helps racial minorities — Newsday secondary accessed August 13, 2026

See also