MSU agrees to dissolve Ph.D. diversity partnership after fed investigation

The U.S. Department of Education found Montana State University racially discriminated against students by participating in a nationwide organization that helps connect minority prospective Ph.D. students to university programs.

That’s according to a letter sent by the Department of Education to MSU in September. MSU was one of 31 universities to agree to end their partnership with the organization, according to a February press release from the federal agency.

The Department of Education claims MSU and the other institutions violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “by partnering with an organization that discriminates on the basis of race.”

The department gave MSU draft language for an agreement that would require the university to investigate whether there are other organizations that “may restrict participation based on race” and submit a report. Non-compliance with the agreement could lead to a DOJ investigation, it says.

Last March the department released a memo listing MSU as one of 45 schools it was investigating for “allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs” for partnering with “The PhD Project.” The nonprofit partners with universities to connect minority prospective Ph.D. candidates to university programs, hosting an annual conference and job board to help students seeking post-graduate education.

MSU spokesperson Michael Becker told the Missoulian on Tuesday access to the PhD Project’s jobs site “did not change any of MSU’s recruitment or hiring practices in any way.”

“A staff member signed the university up with the PhD Project in 2024 to gain access to advertise jobs on the organization’s jobs list,” Becker said. “The access was used to expand the reach of our job postings in addition to ads placed in other outlets.”

This Department of Education's conclusion comes after President Donald Trump’s administration prioritized rolling back “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” efforts throughout government and at organizations receiving federal funds, including higher education institutions like MSU.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that universities cutting ties with the organization, and others like it, was the “Trump effect in action.”

“We are hopeful that other institutions with similarly discriminatory practices will follow suit, paving the way for a future where we reject judging individuals by the color of their skin and once again embrace the principles of merit, excellence, and opportunity,” McMahon said.

In The PhD Project’s 2022 tax forms, it said its mission was to “increase workplace diversity by increasing the diversity of business school faculty to encourage, mentor, support, and enhance the preparation of tomorrow’s leaders,” and that it “attracts black/African Americans, Latinx/Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans to business PhD programs and provides a network of peer support on their journey to becoming professors.”

The organization also hosts an annual two-day conference for prospective doctoral students to network with university representatives, and the Department of Education's letter said at the time the complaint was filed, “participation in this conference was exclusively limited to individuals who identify as Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American, or Native American/Canadian Indigenous.”

The letter said the nonprofit limited its eligibility at “all times relevant” to these prospective students.

“University applicants who are white or Asian American, for instance, were not eligible,” the letter said. “This is textbook discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.”

MSU paid an annual fee between $3,000 and $5,000 to partner with the organization as a non-doctoral granting institution for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, the department said.

“As a non-doctoral granting institution, this partnership fee allowed the University to post faculty positions on a job board, access a member directory and applicant database for faculty recruitment, and participate in a member association conference,” the department letter said.

The department found the university “endorses, promotes, and benefits from a program that limited participation based on race through its payment of partnership fees and its use of PhD Project resources for recruitment purposes in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.”

“Accordingly, the University’s participation in The PhD Project — a blatantly discriminatory program designed to benefit certain favored students based on their race or national origin to the clear detriment of other students who did not have access to the program because of their race or national origin —violated Title VI,” the letter said.

The letter included draft language for a resolution agreement which outlined the university’s commitment to discontinuing its partnership with The PhD Project and provide documentation of such within 30 days of the agreement.

The university would also review memberships and partnerships with all other outside organizations “to identify any memberships or partnerships with organizations that may restrict participation based on race” and submit a report to the department within 60 days of the agreement.

“The report will also indicate whether the University plans to discontinue each membership or partnership, and if it does not intend to discontinue, an explanation of the reason,” the draft agreement language reads.

MSU would have to wait for approval from the department to go forward with canceling the partnerships and then if approved, would be required to submit documentation of said cancellation to the department.

Becker said MSU did not "identify any other relationships or organizations that may discriminate based on race."

The draft language said the department’s Office for Civil Rights may visit the university, conduct interviews and request additional reports if necessary to determine if MSU has fulfilled the terms of the agreement.

It also said the office may refer the case to the Department of Justice for judicial proceedings in the event of a breach of the agreement.

“Before initiating such proceedings, OCR will give the University written notice of the alleged breach and 60 calendar days to cure the alleged breach,” the letter says.