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Today the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights announced it was investigating the University of Notre Dame, along with 44 other higher education institutions, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964). In a press release published this morning, the department alleged that the universities engaged in “race-exclusionary practices” in their graduate departments. The Department claims that race-based programs and scholarships are a violation of civil rights laws.

The universities now under investigation all participated in “The Ph.D. Project” which helps to increase racial minorities in doctoral programs. WVBE noted that although the organization’s 'About Us' page currently makes no mention of race, archival website data from October 9, 2024—before the election—shows that its mission was to ‘increase workplace diversity by increasing the diversity of business school faculty.’

Erin Blasko, associate director of Media Relations, said, “As always, The University of Notre Dame follows the law and in no way practices or condones discrimination. As a Catholic university, we are fully committed to defending the dignity of every human person and ensuring that every person can flourish."

It remains unclear how an investigation will proceed and whether it will disrupt campus activities this spring or in the coming academic year.

Notre Dame has already adjusted to policy shifts by the Trump administration. Last week, the university announced a hiring freeze for non-teaching staff due to federal grant cancellations. The announcement also cited a proposed increase in the tax on private university endowments from 1.4% to 21%. After the Trump administration’s opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion practices at higher education institutions, the university changed the diversity.nd.edu site to weareall.nd.edu. Reporting from the Observer notes that the university made the change and features a statement from Blasko which denies that the changes to the diversity.nd.edu were because of government actions, instead attributing them to reflect the new leadership of University President Fr. Robert Dowd. Last fall, the Department of Student Affairs made similar name changes on their website, the “Diversity & Inclusion” tab was changed to “Diversity & Engagement."