University of Minnesota backtracks on program that banned white students
The University of Minnesota’s website is no longer promoting a summer research program that excludes white students, after a conservative nonprofit advocacy group filed a complaint with federal civil rights officials last week.
A link that previously directed “students of color and Native Americans” to apply for a “Multicultural Summer Research Opportunities Program” now leads users to a rebranded “Pathways to Graduate School: Summer Research Program.”
The requirements for the program are no longer race-based, with applicants instead needing to show a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and “be a US citizen or permanent resident,” according to the site.
A $6,000 stipend “for personal and research expenses” is still being offered to potential graduate students.
William Jacobson, a Cornell University law professor whose group The Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation took legal action against the university, said the elimination of “racially exclusionary language is a good first step.”
“The university needs to issue a formal apology and implement changes to make sure the discrimination does not continue out of public view,” Jacobson said in a statement that called on the school to examine why its original program was “openly discriminating based on skin color.”
“There is a cultural problem at U. Minnesota and many universities where racial discrimination in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is viewed as legitimate and worthwhile. U. Minnesota needs to change this DEI culture,” he continued.
On Wednesday, university officials acknowledged they had made the changes in the program, which had “a history that goes back to the 1980s,” the higher learning institution said.
“It was developed in part to address the underrepresentation of students of color at the graduate or professional level, which was considered a national issue.
“Its goals included exposing students to the possibility of continued studies at the graduate level and working with them to Improve their readiness for and access to graduate level studies.”
The adjustment came two days after a spokesperson told The Post that educators were taking another look at the program’s criteria in light of the EPP complaint — which sought a remedy, not monetary damages.