University of Chicago quietly cuts ties with partnership that helps students of color attain Ph.Ds

Hope Moses, Chicago Tribune on Feb 20, 2026

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CHICAGO — The University of Chicago is among 31 universities nationwide to cut ties with The Ph.D. Project, an organization known for helping students of color attain professional degrees, amid an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education.

The organization, founded in 1994 to increase diversity among business school faculty, provides students of color access to job and mentorship opportunities to help them earn doctoral degrees.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights’ investigation into 45 university agreements with the organization started nearly a year ago as part of the Trump Administration’s goal to eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies in higher education.

The OCR concluded that institutions violated the federal Civil Rights Act by partnering with a program that “limits eligibility based on the race of its participants.”

But the University of Chicago told the Tribune Friday that it discontinued its engagement with the organization prior to receiving the notice of investigation from the Office for Civil Rights and “takes seriously its obligation to prohibit unlawful discrimination,” UChicago’s Director of Public Affairs Gerald McSwiggan said in a statement.

McSwiggan was not immediately available to answer follow-up questions, including what led the university to sever its ties with the organization.

Other institutions also terminated their agreements with The Ph.D. Project prior to the department’s investigation, while others have now agreed to end their memberships or partnerships, the department said in a letter.

Alongside UChicago, Yale University, New York University and Duke University were among the 31 institutions to sever ties with the organization.

“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,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a statement.

Other Illinois institutions, such as Northwestern University, have faced similar pressure from the White House regarding DEI policies. Northwestern agreed in November 2025 to review its international admissions policies and to terminate an agreement reached with pro-Palestinian demonstrators to restore its federal funding.

Each of the 31 universities has similarly agreed to conduct a review of their partnerships with external organizations to identify any that violate federal law by restricting participation based on race — making cuts to other university partnerships in the future possible.

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