LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — After a federal investigation spanning more than a year and a half, University of Kentucky officials announced on Wednesday that the college was found to have “endorsed, promoted and benefited” from practices said to be discriminatory against students.
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According to an Oct. 1 announcement, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation in March 2024 into UK, along with 44 other colleges nationwide, and their ties with a nonprofit organization called The PhD Project.
President Eli Capilouto wrote on Wednesday that the OCR found the PhD Project’s practices to be discriminatory.
Although UK cancelled its partnership with the nonprofit, the months-long investigation concluded that the school “endorsed, promoted and benefited from a program that limited participation based on race,” federal officials were quoted as saying.
What happens next?
According to a resolution agreement with the OCR, UK has 60 days to:
- List every organization the school is associated with
- Describe the organization, including the nature of its partnership with UK
- Indicate whether or not UK will discontinue its partnership with the organization, and, if it plans to continue, explain why
Once the office gets the report of these organizations, the university will have 30 days to formally announce the cancellation of those identified partnerships…