Original Post: March 24, 2025
(New Mexico Daily Lobo-UNM Board of Student Publications-University of New Mexico)
Authors: Lily Alexander and Nate Bernard
Investigation will have a ‘huge chilling effect,’ education law attorney says
On March 14, the U.S. Education Department Office for Civil Rights announced investigations into 45 universities across the country, including the University of New Mexico, for allegedly engaging in “race-exclusionary practices” in their graduate programs.
In its announcement, the department alleged that the universities violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by partnering with a nonprofit that supports historically underrepresented candidates in obtaining Ph.D.s. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities that receive federal funding.
The Education Department also initiated investigations into six universities for allegedly awarding race-based scholarships, and one university for allegedly having a program that “segregates students on the basis of race.”
The investigations follow a Feb. 14 Education Department Office for Civil Rights memo that directed educational institutions to end race-based programs or risk losing federal funding.
In a statement to the Daily Lobo, UNM Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Cinnamon Blair wrote that the University prohibits unlawful discrimination and will cooperate with the OCR.
It is unclear whether UNM has a partnership with The PhD Project — the nonprofit named in the investigation announcement — and if so, to what extent…
Read the full article here.