The U.S. Department of Education announced on Friday that it is investigating two Michigan universities for allegedly violating the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The department’s Office of Civil Rights claims that the University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University offer programs or scholarships whose eligibility is based on students’ race.
But the department has not provided specifics. Germine Awad, a professor at the University of Michigan and chair of the Faculty Senate's Committee on Anti-Racism, said the claims don't add up.
“I think that this administration is grasping at straws,” she said.
The education department said the University of Michigan is among 45 schools that have partnered with The Ph.D. Project, which the department described as "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."
But Awad said programs like the Ph.D. Project aren’t race-exclusive.
“A lot of these programs are just meant to try to identify folks from backgrounds that haven't traditionally been a part of [academia], but they're typically open to everyone,” said Awad. “And so it doesn't really meet the criteria for race discrimination.”
The organization has historically provided mentorship and networking opportunities to business school Ph.D. students from underrepresented backgrounds, according to its 2023 report. This year, the program opened up to anyone who supports having more role models in business school classrooms, the project said in a statement.
The education department also alleges that Grand Valley State University awards scholarships based on students’ race. But it didn’t provide any details about how the school does that, or how the scholarships might violate federal law.
“I really think this is a fallacy,” Awad said. “I don't think when they have scholarships that are targeted to try to increase diverse folks that white folks can't apply for them.”
The department is reviewing 11 scholarships, according to a statement from the school. That’s out of over 500 available. But it’s not clear which scholarships are under review.
GVSU "is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment while complying with all applicable laws," the school said in a statement.
The investigations are part of the Trump administration’s broader attack on programs that try to address racial inequity, Awad said. And even if the administration's argument is rickety, investigations like these can hamper academic freedom and free speech, she said.
“There's certainly chilling effects that are occurring where you have universities that are engaging in anticipatory compliance to try to stay in the good graces of the Trump administration,” said Awad.
The University of Michigan did not respond to requests for comment.
The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public’s broadcast license.
