MIT cut ties with diversity nonprofit following federal inquiry

MIT has cut ties with a national nonprofit focused on diversifying university faculties following pressure from the Trump administration.

The Cambridge school is one of 31 institutions that have agreed to end its association with the Ph.D Project, according to an announcement made Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education. The nonprofit, which was founded in 1994, helps students from historically underrepresented minorities enter doctoral degree programs in business to become professors.

The department announced it would investigate 45 universities last March, claiming that their partnerships with The PhD Project violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race.

MIT ended its relationship with the nonprofit last year, shortly after the federal Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into that partnership, a university spokeswoman said Thursday.

MIT spokeswoman Kim Allen declined to share the terms of the agreement the school signed last week but in a statement said MIT “explicitly did not admit any liability, wrongdoing, or violation of any law or regulation.”

The school paid a “nominal” fee to attend The PhD Project fairs and answer questions about post-graduate programs from doctoral candidates. She declined to say how many years MIT has participated in the conferences, but said the university told the government last April that it had ended the relationship due to the education department's concerns.

In September, however, federal officials told MIT that it violated federal civil rights law by paying a fee to The PhD Project. The MIT Sloan School of Management offers several PhD program tracks, including in finance and accounting, management science and behavioral and policy sciences.

“We were disappointed by this outcome,” Allen said.

The PhD Project declined to address the recent agreements.

“The PhD Project remains focused on our mission to expand the pool of workplace talent by developing business school faculty who inspire, mentor, and support tomorrow’s leaders,” the group said in a statement.

According to the education department's statement, the 31 schools also agreed to review other partnerships with outside organizations that allegedly limit participation based on race. Duke, Ohio State University and University of Notre Dame are among the schools.