Education Department launches investigation into UNM for ‘race-exclusionary practices’

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.

But the Education Department’s investigation can go beyond any potential connection between the two, according to Yolanda Gallegos, an education law attorney who works in New Mexico and nationwide. It does not just have to focus on The PhD Project, she said, and could look into other programs that seek to help minority students.

Gallegos said she believes that UNM, as a Hispanic-serving institution, should be more concerned about the investigation than other universities on the Education Department’s list. The premise of HSIs, historically Black colleges and universities, and tribal colleges and universities is that the United States suffers from systemic racism, she said — but President Donald Trump’s administration’s position is that systemic racism does not exist.

Systemic racism is a form of racism that is deeply embedded in systems, laws, policies and entrenched practices and beliefs, according to an article published in the journal “Health Affairs.” Systemic racism creates, condones and perpetuates widespread unfair treatment and oppression of people of color, according to the article.

“When you take away the premise of the present existence of systemic racism, then that means that there is no need for special programs to cater to particular minority groups,” Gallegos said.

As of March 23, the investigations remain ongoing, and no universities have lost federal funding as a direct result of them.

However, the Education Department and other federal departments announced March 7 the cancellation of $400 million in federal grants for Columbia University after launching a different Title VI investigation. This investigation alleged that Columbia — and 59 other universities — failed to protect Jewish students, according to an Education Department press release.

“It’s going to have a huge chilling effect,” Gallegos said. “If you go after one of the most prestigious, powerful universities in the country — Columbia University — and you can scare Columbia, then you can certainly scare the University of New Mexico.”

The Education Department has never before revoked a college’s federal funding over Title VI violations, according to Inside Higher Ed.

In 2024, UNM received $383 million from direct and indirect federal funding, Blair told the Daily Lobo last month.

Letters sent by the Office of Civil Rights to the universities under investigation set a March 31 deadline for information about their relationships with The PhD Project, according to The Associated Press. The investigations could take weeks, months or years, Gallegos said.

“The OCR is using the civil rights laws as a means of taking over,” Gallegos said. “It’s using the law not as a shield to protect students who are being discriminated against. It’s really using it as a sword to bring higher education to its knees.”

Lily Alexander is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on X @llilyalexander

Nate Bernard is the news editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @natebernard14

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