FIRST ON FOX: The Equal Protection Project, founded and led by Cornell professor William Jacobson, has released a deep-dive report on the prevalence of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training at Ivy League universities.
In his comprehensive report, “Poison Ivies: DEI and the Downfall of the Ivys,” Jacobson examines programs the eight Ivy League institutions use and require for students.
“The review of Ivy League practices by our CriticalRace.org project reflects substantial efforts by Ivy League schools to purport to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action, while maintaining work-arounds and DEI practices that continue the obsession with racial identities,” Jacobson told Fox News Digital.
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In his report, Jacobson shows how Ivy League institutions are sidestepping the June 29, 2023, ruling by the Supreme Court that says race cannot be used in admission decision-making at universities.
“Ivy League universities pretend not to take race into consideration but then provide essay question opportunities for students to talk about their race,” he said.
“The Supreme Court affirmative action ruling took place in the context of university admissions, but it’s clear that the court’s opinion at its core was an Equal Protection Clause ruling that applies in other university contexts.”
The findings
In his report, Jacobson found that out of the eight Ivy League universities:
- Four require DEI training in student orientation programs (Columbia, Harvard, Princeton and Yale).
- Six require faculty or staff DEI training in some capacity (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Princeton and Yale).
- All eight have DEI offices at the institutional and/or department level.
- Five have a strategic plan devoted to DEI or anti-racism (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and Yale).
- All eight have DEI or CRT (critical race theory) topics in classes and curricula.
- All eight have bias reporting systems.
Jacobson said he found that while the universities “pretend” not to consider race, in practice, they often do.
“Ivy League universities pretend not to take race into consideration but then provide essay question opportunities for students to talk about their race,” he said.
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“It’s hard to believe that in environments in which DEI is the dominant ideology, taking on a quasi-religious fervor, that race does not enter into admissions decisions in fact, even if there is window-dressing to provide possible legal cover.”
Brown University
The report found that all departments at Brown require a multiyear plan for DEI.
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Columbia University
In their orientation programming, students at Columbia undergo their “Inclusion & Belonging” program, which, Jacobson says, “includes concepts such as inclusion, diversity, equity, allyship and bias.”
Cornell University
At Cornell, the DoBetterCornell student group is involved in the development of an educational requirement that focuses on themes like systemic racism, bias, colonialism and inequity.
In addition, Jacobson found that, in 2024, the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures was launched to center on anti-Black racism.
Dartmouth University
All students at Dartmouth University are required to take a culture and identity class.
Harvard University
Harvard has an Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, which also has the Inclusive Teaching Institute, which is dedicated to training faculty and staff to incorporate inclusive teaching.
Princeton University
Princeton, the report notes, requires all employees, student leaders, faculty involved in graduate admission and hiring recruitments to take a culture and difference class and DEI training.
University of Pennsylvania
Penn has a cultural diversity course requirement for all undergraduate students as well as a cross-cultural perspective course for all Wharton School students.
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In 2022, the Ivy League introduced DEI and environmental, social and governance factors for business (ESGB) majors and concentrations for Wharton students as majors and as undergraduate concentrations.
Jacobson noted that Penn also has a program known as Projects for Progress, which offers up to $100,000 grants for projects focused on topics like systemic racism.
Yale University
Yale has a stipulation that each school and administrative division should have a five-year plan on DEI, Jacobson reported.
The Equal Protection Project focuses on challenging race-based discrimination. The organization has challenged over 100 scholarships and programs discriminating against White and Asian students at universities across the country.
“To fully achieve the nondiscrimination standards of the Supreme Court ruling, the race-obsessed cultures at the Ivy League schools need to change,” Jacobson said. “It will be a long process. The Supreme Court ruling was just the first step.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Education for comment.
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