The Supreme Court has finally said “no” to racial discrimination by colleges that receive federal funds (only a very few don’t), and many of them don’t want to give up their game of social engineering. Too bad, but the Trump administration is evidently not going to turn a blind eye to violations.

Racial preferences are not limited to admissions. Schools are not allowed to run or participate in programs that are racially exclusionary. That includes programs like “the PhD Project,” which is the subject of today’s Martin Center article. 

Author Adam Kissel writes,

The most recent application round for the PhD Project—for the conference to be held March 20-21, 2025—stated that eligibility was limited to those who ‘Identify as Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American, or Native American/Canadian Indigenous.’ In previous years, eligibility was similarly limited to ‘Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American or Native American’ applicants (with Canadian Indigenous applicants excluded). These restrictions by race and ethnicity violate civil-rights laws.

The PhD Project has recently tried to hide its discriminatory nature, but it’s still only open to some people. If it wants to operate that way, it will have to do so without the support of colleges that receive federal funds.

Kissel has identified a number of universities in North Carolina (and elsewhere) that are still supporting this discriminatory program. He concludes, “Each university also should initiate a civil-rights audit to ensure full compliance. Intentional disparate impact by race—far worse than unintended disparate impact—remains pervasive in U.S. colleges and universities. Honest, comprehensive civil-rights audits must get illegal discrimination out of our institutions of higher education for good.”