Colleges Cut Ties With The PhD Project, Which Boosts Black Representation In Business, Amid Pressure From Trump

The PhD Project's aim is to “create a broader talent pipeline” of business leaders.

The PhD Project, a small program designed to boost Black and Latinx representation in business degree programs, is now under scrutiny as the Trump administration has launched investigations into dozens of universities connected to the program as part of its so-called racial discrimination probe.

According to The Associated Press, the investigations have led to what conservative activists like Christopher Rufo likely intended — universities scrambling to distance themselves from the PhD Project to protect federal funding amid the Trump administration’s approach to diversity, equity and inclusion, a move some say is driven by fear.

The PhD Project put out a short statement to the AP emphasizing its aim to “create a broader talent pipeline” of business leaders and said that “this year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision.”

Regardless of this clarification, a number of universities, including the University of Kentucky, the University of Wyoming, and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and Arizona State University either said that they have cut ties, would cut ties, or are no longer financially supporting the PhD Project.

Veena Dubal, the general counsel for the American Association of University Professors, told the AP that the reaction of these universities hints that they may be governed by fear. “There is a concern that if one university steps up and fights this then that university will have all of their funding cut. They are being hindered not just by fear but a real collective action problem. None of these universities wants to be the next example.”

According to Politico, universities, even liberal institutions like Columbia University and Dartmouth College, are folding under pressure from the Trump administration, in part, ironically, to protect their deep pockets, which in theory, could be utilized to fight back against the attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion and liberal education itself.

As Holden Thorp, the former chancellor of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told the outlet, “It’s going to be tense for a while, because…the [university] presidents are not going to go into full-on resistance mode. They have too much history and financial resources and people to protect to do that.”

Much of the debate on the Trump administration’s overreach at universities has centered on Columbia University, whose interim president, Katrina Armstrong, signaled that she was prepared to comply with the Trump administration’s desire to control key aspects of the university, including placing its Middle East, South Asian, and African studies department under independent oversight.

In an interview with Politico, Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University, indicated that he believes universities have a duty to protect their students rights and their own independence, regardless of the overtures from the Trump administration; and Roth also defended DEI from the framing of individuals like Rufo.

“So, famously Chris Rufo and company have managed to make diversity, equity, and inclusion poisonous words, whereas I think most people think that it’s better to learn from folks who don’t always agree with you. That’s why diversity is good,” Roth said.

He added, “Most everybody thinks fairness is a good thing, which is just what equity means, and no one is against belonging. But many administrators are so afraid to use these words because the government is using cheap versions of AI to find the words and then go after the people who use them. The idea that we now have a list of words we shouldn’t use is shocking. Schools are scrubbing their websites…But this effort now to just make sure you’re not using some good old American words to talk about how you’re teaching, that’s one of the greatest infringements on free speech that I can remember in my lifetime.”