Trump administration to investigate University of Minnesota for alleged racial discrimination

The U is one of 50 universities under investigation for discrimination or segregation in educational programming.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 14, 2025 at 5:16PM
The University of Minnesota is one of 50 under investigation for discrimination or segregation in educational programming. (Angelina Katsanis/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The University of Minnesota is one of 50 universities under federal investigation for alleged racial discrimination in scholarship and graduate programs.

Minnesota’s public university is already one of five schools that are part of a Trump administration investigation for alleged antisemitism.

The Department of Education’s newest investigation comes after a memo last month that reminded institutions to “end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes” in admissions, scholarship programs or other educational programming, or risk losing federal money.

The investigation alleges that 45 institutions have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964) by partnering with the Ph.D. Project, an organization that seeks to broaden workplace talent pipelines by helping diverse students obtain advanced business degrees.

“Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a news release.

The U is also listed as one of seven schools under investigation for “alleged impermissible race-based scholarships and race-based segregation.”

Other schools listed in the investigation include the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Arizona State University, University of Michigan, Yale, Duke and Cornell.

about the writer

about the writer

Zoë Jackson

Reporter

Zoë Jackson is a general assignment reporter for the Star Tribune. She previously covered race and equity, St. Paul neighborhoods and young voters on the politics team.

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