Towson University faces Education Department investigation over alleged civil rights violation

By Sarah Sternhagen, Editor-in-Chief

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating whether Towson University violated federal civil rights law by working with a nonprofit that helps students from underrepresented populations earn doctorates. 

Towson was one of 45 colleges that the Trump administration said had allegedly violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by partnering with The PhD Project, which aims to bolster diversity in the business world. The Education Department announced the investigations earlier this month into the colleges, which include George Mason University, in Virginia, and Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C.  

The PhD Project lists Towson as a partner institution that it collaborates with on non-doctoral programs. The PhD Project’s search function that finds partnering institutions is no longer available on its website.

A Towson spokesperson said the university is monitoring the Education Department’s investigation closely. 

The investigation comes one month after the Education Department announced that any college engaged in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives was infringing on federal civil rights law. The Education Department wrote in a public letter that it had interpreted a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down race-conscious admissions to apply broadly to college programs.

Many legal scholars say that applying the Supreme Court decision to all diversity related initiatives in higher education is a misinterpretation of the decision and oversteps its intended use.

The Trump administration has widely tried to dismantle diversity programs within and funded by the federal government. The executive order Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling threatens to withhold federal funding from K-12 schools that discuss equity ideology when it comes to race.

The PhD Project did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication Sunday.