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Until recently, it was a little-known program to help Black and Latino students pursue business degrees. But in January, conservative strategist Christopher Rufo flagged the program known as the PhD Project in social media posts that caught the attention of Republican politicians. The program is now at the center of a Trump administration campaign to root out diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education. The U.S. Education Department last week said it was investigating dozens of universities for alleged racial discrimination, citing ties to the nonprofit organization. That followed a warning a month earlier that schools could lose federal money over race-based preferences in admissions, scholarships or any aspect of student life. The investigations left some school leaders startled and confused, wondering what prompted the inquiries. Many scrambled to distance themselves from The PhD Project, which has aimed to help diversify the business world and higher education faculty. The rollout of the investigations highlights the climate of fear and uncertainty in higher education, which President Donald Trump’s administration has begun policing for policies that run afoul of his agenda even as he moves to dismantle the Education Department. The Trump administration asked colleges to explain ties to The PhD Project There is a range of nonprofits that work to help minority groups advance in higher education but The PhD Project was not well known before Rufo began posting on X about its work with colleges, said Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents. Its not hard to draw some lines between that incident and why 45 institutions that were partners with The PhD Project are getting this investigation announced, he said. The 45 colleges under investigation for ties to the organization include public universities such as Arizona State, Ohio State and the University of California, Berkeley, along with private schools like Yale, Cornell, Duke and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Education Department sent letters to the universities informing them its Office for Civil Rights had received a complaint and they were under investigation for allegedly discriminating against students on the basis of race or ethnicity because of a past affiliation with The PhD Project. The letters set a March 31 deadline for information about their relationship with the nonprofit. In a statement, the PhD Project said it aims to create a broader talent pipeline” of business leaders. This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision, it said. Colleges tread carefully on inquiries that threaten federal funding Public reaction from the universities leadership has been minimal and cautious, with most issuing brief statements saying they will cooperate with investigators and refusing further comment. Colleges may see reason not to push back. The Trump administration has shown willingness to withhold federal funding over issues involving antisemitism allegations, diversity programs and transgender athletes. At Columbia University, under fire for its handling of pro-Palestinian protests, the administration pulled $400 million in federal money and threatened billions more if it does not comply with its demands. There is a concern that if one university steps up and fights this then that university will have all of their funding cut, said Veena Dubal, general counsel for the American Association of University Professors. They are being hindered not just by fear but a real collective action problem. None of these universities wants to be the next example. Some colleges moved swiftly to stop working with The PhD Project. The University of Kentucky said it severed ties with the nonprofit on Monday. The University of Wyoming said in a statement that its college of business was affiliated with the group to develop its graduate student pipeline, but it plans to discontinue its membership. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas issued a statement saying three professors participated in the program, but two no longer work at the university and a third was killed in a shooting on campus in 2023. Arizona State said its business school is not financially supporting The PhD Project this year and it told faculty in February the school would not support travel to the nonprofits conference. A campaign against the nonprofit’s work began on social media Similar fallout came in Texas earlier this year, when Rufo began posting on X about the PhD Project. Texas A&M is sponsoring a trip to a DEI conference, Rufo posted on Jan. 13. Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, accused the university of supporting racial segregation and breaking the law. The next day Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbot posted on X that the university president will soon be gone unless he immediately fixed the matter. Texas A&M responded by withdrawing from the conference, and soon after at least eight other Texas public universities that had participated previously in The PhD Projects conference also withdrew, the Texas Tribune reported. Rufo has not responded to a request for comment. Some of the schools under investigation raised questions about where the complaints against them originated. Montana State University said it follows all state and federal laws and was surprised by the notice it received and unaware of any complaint made internally with regards to The PhD Project. Six other colleges are being investigated for awarding impermissible race-based scholarships, the Education Department said. Additionally, the University of Minnesota is being investigated for allegedly operating a program that segregates students on the basis of race. At the University of California, Berkeley, hundreds gathered Wednesday on the campus known for student protests. But this one was organized by faculty, who stood on the steps of Sproul Hall, known as the birthplace of the free speech movement in the 1960s. This is a fight that can be summed up in five words: Academic freedom is under assault, Ula Taylor, a professor of African American studies, said to the crowd. In a campus email Monday, Berkeley Chncellor Rich Lyons did not specifically mention the investigation targeting his school. But he described the federal governments actions against higher education as a threat to the school’s core values. A Berkeley without academic freedom, without freedom of inquiry, without freedom of expression is simply not Berkeley, Lyons said. We will stand up for Berkeleys values and defend them to the very best of our ability.___ Cheyanne Mumphrey and Jocelyn Gecker, AP education writers Associated Press writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report. The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Category:
E-Commerce
Colleges and universities are warning international students to avoid leaving the U.S. for spring break amid the Trump administration’s continuous deportation threats. Even though international students are in the U.S. legally on student visas, schools are expressing concern that if those students leave the country, they won’t be allowed back in. The warnings come as Trump has proposed travel bans targeting 43 countries, some highly publicized deportations have already taken place, and new raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at colleges and universities have stoked fear in many. In an email Thursday, NYU administrators warned both students and faculty against any “nonessential travel,” especially to the countries Trump targets in his proposed travel bans. While we are not extending that same guidance to our entire international community, we would suggest that if you are uneasy or have some hesitancy about international travel right now, you consider remaining in the United States during the break out of an abundance of caution, the email said. Likewise, Brown University released similar guidance in a school-wide email. “We understand that many in our community are feeling a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety as news media share reports of federal deportation actions against individuals who are non-U.S. citizens,” Russell C. Carey, executive vice president for planning and policy and interim vice president for campus life at Brown, said in the email shared with USA Today. Carey added, “Potential changes in travel restrictions and travel bans, visa procedures and processing, reentry requirements, and other travel-related delays may affect travelers ability to return to the U.S. as planned.” Columbia University and Cornell University have posted similar warnings on their websites. Under Trump’s orders, a recent series of highly publicized and potentially illegal deportations have been reported on lately. Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful U.S. resident and graduate of Columbia University, who helped organize protests last spring against Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza, was detained by ICE agents and taken to an immigration jail in Louisiana. A judge ordered Khalil to be kept in the U.S. for now, but in a social media post, Trump warned that the arrest would be the “first of many” and called those who speak against Israel’s U.S.-funded bombing of Palestine “antisemitic” and “anti-American.” The post warned, We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our countrynever to return again. Following Khalil’s arrest, a physician at Brown had her visa canceled when returning to the U.S. from her home in Lebanon, despite a judge’s order. A French scientist was also denied entry to the U.S. after immigration officials found texts on his phone that were critical of Trump. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the texts “could be qualified as terrorism.” It’s not the first time colleges and universities have urged international students to avoid travel at certain times. Last year, schools warned international students to get back on U.S. soil before Trump took office, fearing that if they did not, the administration’s new travel restrictions might prevent their return. At the time, Northeastern University in Boston, which has the second-highest number of international students (after NYU), sent an alert from the Office of Global Services to the schools international community: To minimize potential disruption to your studies, work, or research, we strongly recommend returning to the U.S. no later than January 6, 2025, the start of Northeasterns Winter/Spring academic term. This will allow you to be present on campus before possible restrictions take effect.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Small Business Administration (SBA) will now be responsible for handling federal student loans for more than 40 million Americans, taking over that responsibility from the Department of Education a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the education agency. The announcement comes at the same time that the SBA said it is cutting 43% of its staff and restructuring the agency “to eliminate wasteful spending,” as part of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting agenda. We have a portfolio that is very large, lots of loans, tens of thousands of loans, pretty complicated deal, President Donald Trump said to reporters at the White House on Friday. Theyre all set for it. Theyre waiting for it. However, critics have said this could create chaos and confusion for millions of American borrowers. Currently, the U.S. federal education debt exceeds $1.6 trillion, according to CNBC. As CBS News noted, the SBA employs less than half a percent of the entire federal workforce, or roughly 6,500 people. Under the reorganization plan, the agency will eliminate approximately 2,700 jobs, which the agency said would save more than $435 million a year by next fiscal year. The SBA said in a statement that its reorganization will not impact its core services, which include loan guarantees and disaster assistance programs, and field and veteran operations; but it will refocus on supplying capital, fostering innovation, supporting veteran small business owners, and providing timely disaster relief “in support of President Trumps economic agenda.” It remains unclear how cutting the SBA’s budget, staff, and programs could benefit American small businesses. According to the statement, Trump’s agenda is aimed at reversing “the broad and costly expansion of the SBA under the Biden Administration.” The Trump administration claims the agency has doubled since the pandemic to help hard-hit small businesses through its programs, including the Green Lender Initiative, the Community Navigator Pilot Program, and DEI activities. “In the last four years, the agency has veered off trackdoubling in size and turning into a sprawling leviathan plagued by mission creep, financial mismanagement, and waste,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “Instead of serving small businesses, the SBA served a partisan political agendaexpanding in size, scope, and spending.” A full list of the key features of the SBA’s reorganization can be found here.
Category:
E-Commerce
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