Editor’s note: After this story was published, the Department of Education quietly updated a press release that had erroneously listed The University of Alabama as under investigation. In fact, it is The University of Alabama at Birmingham, not The University of Alabama, that is under investigation. The Crimson White has written a follow-up explaining the details, but this story has remained unchanged.
The United States Department of Education announced last Friday it will investigate the University and six other institutions for awarding “impermissible race-based scholarships.”
In 2023, the University discontinued the National Recognition Scholars program, which was exclusive to students who identify as Black, Hispanic, Latino, Indigenous or Native, or who attended high school in a rural area or small town. Applicants were eligible based on a status offered by the College Board to students with a GPA of a 3.3 or higher and who scored in the top 10% of test-takers on the PSAT.
The other six schools facing the same investigation are:
- Grand Valley State University
- Ithaca College
- New England College of Optometry
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- University of South Florida
- University of Oklahoma, Tulsa School of Community Medicine
“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin,” said Linda McMahon, U.S. secretary of education, in a press release. “We will not yield on this commitment.”
Last month, a letter from Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights for the DOE, said that over the last four years, institutions “have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism’ and advanced discriminatory policies and practices.”
“Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them — particularly during the last four years — under the banner of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (‘DEI’), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline,” the letter said.
On Inauguration Day, the White House issued a memo claiming President Donald Trump’s administration will terminate “all discriminatory programs” in the federal government, including “illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.’”
According to the UA 2023-24 Annual Financial Report, the University received $143 million in federal grants. The current investigation puts the University at risk of losing federal funding.
“These OCR investigations are being conducted pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in education programs and activities receiving federal funding,” the DOE’s announcement said. “Institutions’ violation of Title VI can result in loss of federal funds.”
The University did not respond in time for comment, as all offices were closed during spring break.
