Washington University in St. Louis is pulling the plug on a minority-focused mentoring program after federal civil rights officials stepped in, cutting off a campus pipeline that connected students of color with graduate-school mentors and professional networks. University leaders say they are trying to blunt the impact on students while they comb through other outside partnerships and academic support services.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the move is part of a resolution with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights that requires universities to identify partnerships that “restrict participation based on race” and to end any that do. The Post-Dispatch reports that the agreement specifically orders WashU to cut the named mentoring relationship and to review other outside affiliations. The story, by education reporter Monica Obradovic, was published Feb. 23, 2026.
The decision slots WashU into a growing national trend. The Washington Post has reported that dozens of colleges and universities have recently reviewed or severed ties with groups created to support students of color after federal scrutiny. That reporting says the Education Department has struck similar resolution agreements with a number of institutions, telling campuses to scan their partnerships for any race-based participation limits. Advocates warn that trimming those ties can gut long-standing pipelines into graduate programs and faculty careers.
What the Agreement Means Legally
Federal civil-rights law, particularly Title VI, bars discrimination on the basis of race by institutions that receive federal funds. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has been using that authority to press schools to defend or dismantle relationships it views as exclusionary. The Associated Press and other outlets have reported that these settlements usually do not come with fines, but they do require colleges to audit their partnerships and, when necessary, terminate those that cannot be squared with federal rules. Legal observers say the resolution agreements are meant to bring campus practices in line with nondiscrimination standards while sidestepping drawn-out court fights.
WashU Response and Local Impact
WashU officials have been publicly signaling that they are watching federal developments and examining their own programs. The university’s Updates on Federal Impacts page includes messages from the chancellor and other offices about ongoing reviews. In a separate communication to the St. Louis community, the university highlights its long-term investments in local education efforts and notes that its Institute for School Partnership works with thousands of educators and supports dozens of districts, a reminder that changes to external partnerships can ripple well beyond the Danforth campus. Administrators say they intend to preserve advising and pipeline support for students even as they carry out the federal resolution…