Towson University ends partnership with nonprofit after Education Department civil rights investigation

By Sarah Sternhagen, Editor-in-Chief

Towson University will no longer work with a nonprofit that helps link students of racial minorities to doctoral programs after the U.S. Department of Education determined the partnership violated civil rights law. 

Last year, the Trump administration claimed that 45 colleges, including Towson, were violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by partnering with The PhD Project. It’s a nonprofit that offers mentorship and networking opportunities to people from underrepresented minorities that are trying to earn doctorates in business fields, with the goal of diversifying the workforce. 

The Education Department opened investigations into the colleges, 31 of which reached agreements with the agency, according to a press release. Those institutions, like Towson, all agreed to no longer work with The PhD Project.

“This is the Trump effect in action: institutions of higher education are agreeing to cut ties with discriminatory organizations, recommitting themselves to abiding by federal law, and restoring equality of opportunity on campuses across the nation,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in the press release.

Towson was listed as a partner institution on The PhD Project’s website in 2025. The search function to find Towson as a member was later taken down. Towson paid a fee of roughly $250 per year for that membership, which let it use one of The PhD Project’s job boards to post open positions, according to university President Mark Ginsberg. 

As part of the agreement, Towson has to review all of its partnerships with outside organizations and give the Education Department a list of the ones that might discriminate based on race. Towson will also have to explain why it will or will not continue working with the listed organizations. After receiving feedback on the list from the Education Department, Towson will “take steps to formally cancel any identified membership or partnership.” 

The university did not pay a financial settlement or admit to wrongdoing as part of the agreement, Ginsberg said.

“Part of the settlement that the government asked for that universities not be members of The PhD Project. We already made [that] decision for a variety of reasons,” Ginsberg said during public remarks last Friday.

The PhD project said in an email that it would continue to “create a broader talent pipeline of current and future business leaders who are committed to excellence.” 

“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 press release. 

The department is still negotiating with the other 14 colleges that worked with The PhD Project, according to the press release. 

The Trump administration has broadly tried to clamp down on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in K-12 schools and colleges. In February 2025, the Education Department said it would interpret a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down race-conscious admission to apply broadly to all college programs. The department’s application of the ruling has since been struck down in court.

Legal scholars have also said applying the Supreme Court decision to all diversity-related initiatives in education misinterpreted the ruling.