Report highlights prevalence of DEI at Ivy League institutions: ‘Dominant ideology’

FIRST ON FOX: The Equal Protection Project, founded and led by Cornell Professor William Jacobson, has released a detailed report on the prevalence of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training at Ivy League universities.

In his exhaustive report, “Poison Ivy: DEI and the Downfall of the Ivy,” Jacobson examines the programs eight Ivy League institutions use and require of students.

“Overview of our Ivy League practices CriticalRace.org project reflects significant efforts by Ivy League schools to purportedly comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action while perpetuating DEI’s workarounds and practices that perpetuate an obsession with racial identities,” Jacobson told Fox News Digital.

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In his report, Jacobson shows how Ivy League institutions are circumventing the June 29, 2023 decision. Supreme Court which says race cannot be used in university admissions decisions.

“Ivy League universities pretend they don’t consider race, but then they give an opportunity for essay questions for students talk about their race,” he said.

“The Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling was made in the context of university admissions, but it is clear that the court’s opinion was at its core an Equal Protection Clause ruling that applies in other university contexts.”

Findings

In his report, Jacobson found that of the eight Ivy League universities:

• Four require DEI training in student orientation programs (Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale).
• Six require DEI faculty or staff training in some capacity (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Princeton, and Yale).
• All eight have DEI offices at the institution and/or department level.
• Five have a strategic plan dedicated to DEI or anti-racism (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Yale).
• All eight have DEI or CRT (critical race theory) themes in their teaching and curriculum.
• All eight have systems for reporting bias.

Jacobson said he found it while the universities they “pretend” not to take race into account, in practice they often do.

“Ivy League universities pretend they don’t consider race, but then they give students essay opportunities to talk about their race,” he said.

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“It is hard to believe that in environments where DEI is the dominant ideology, taking on a quasi-religious fervor, that race does not actually enter into admissions decisions, even if there is masking to provide possible legal cover.”

Brown University

The report found that all departments at Brown’s require a multi-year plan for DEI.

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Columbia University

In their orientation programming, students at Columbia go through their “Inclusion and Belonging” program, which, Jacobson says, “includes concepts like inclusion, diversity, equity, allyship, and bias.”

Cornell University

At Cornell, the student group DoBetterCornell is involved in developing educational requirements that focus on topics such as systemic racism, bias, colonialism, and inequality.

In addition, Jacobson revealed that the Center for Racial Justice and a Just Future was launched in 2024 to focus on anti-black racism.

Dartmouth University

All students at Dartmouth University are required to take the Culture and Identity course.

Harvard University

Harvard has The Office of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, which also has an Institute for Inclusive Education, which is dedicated to training teachers and staff to incorporate inclusive education.

Princeton University

Princeton, the report states, requires all employees, student leaders, faculty involved in graduate admissions and placement to attend a culture and diversity course 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 requirement for all Wharton 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 in grants for projects focused on topics such as systemic racism.

Yale University

Yale has a requirement that each school and administrative department have a five-year DEI plan, Jacobson reported.

The equal protection project is aimed at combating discrimination based on race. The organization has challenged more than 100 scholarships and programs that discriminate against white and Asian students at universities across the country.

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“In order to fully achieve non-discrimination standards Judgment of the Supreme Courtthe race-obsessed cultures at Ivy League schools have to change,” Jacobson said. “It’s going to be a long process. The judgment of the Supreme Court was only the first step.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Education for comment.