Education Department To Investigate University Of Rhode Island’s Discriminatory Scholarships

The Department of Education (DOE) has launched a discrimination investigation into the University of Rhode Island over its use of race and sex-based scholarship programs.

The investigation from the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) comes after the Equal Protection Project (EPP) filed a federal complaint against the university over scholarship offerings that excluded would-be applicants on the basis of their race or sex.

“OCR will investigate whether the University discriminates on the basis of race, color, or national origin by administering the scholarships” and will also investigate “whether the University discriminates on the basis of sex through other scholarship programs,” the DOE said in a letter.

The announcement comes as the diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda has embedded itself throughout higher education, oftentimes informing the selection criteria for scholarship programs.

The DOE’s announcement that it is investigating the university was a direct response to the complaint filed by the EPP, which highlighted specific scholarships and their selection criteria.

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“The discrimination in scholarships at URI is shocking in its breadth, far exceeding any other university we have seen at the Equal Protection Project,” the organization’s founder, William A. Jacobson, told The Daily Wire at the time of the complaint. “URI does not even try to hide the discriminatory barriers, they are all detailed on the URI website.”

One of the scholarships that will now be subject to the investigation is the Bank of America scholarship, which is designated for “two four-year scholarships for minority students, preferably one male and one female.” The Citizens Bank Scholarship, which is reserved for “minority students with financial need who live in Rhode Island,” will also be subject to the investigation.

The two are joined by the Dr. Robert L. Carothers Student Leadership Endowment, which will also be investigated and provides “annual scholarships to URI students of color who provide leadership in broad university programs.”

The EPP highlighted 51 different scholarships in the complaint to the DOE, which explained that it is starting an investigation into 35 of the scholarships while dismissing the others that were the subject of the complaint.