Skip Navigation

Nonprofit accuses Millersville, 3 state universities of racial discrimination in federal complaint

  • By Ashley Stalnecker/LNP | LancasterOnline
Millersville University

 LNP file photo

Millersville University

Millersville University is a target of a federal Office for Civil Rights complaint filed by a Rhode Island-based nonprofit claiming it and three other Pennsylvania state schools racially and ethnically discriminate against students.

The focus of the complaint is a federally funded program, the Keystone Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, which is made up of four Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities: Millersville, East Stroudsburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

In a complaint filed to the Office of Civil Rights Jan. 28, the Equal Protection Project claims the universities are violating the Equal Protection Clause under Title VI and the 14th amendment for “administering and promoting a program which discriminates on the basis of race, color, and/or national origin.”

The program, which is federally funded through the National Science Foundation, provides financial stipends for research and professional development by students pursuing science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, according to the MU website, but the application itself requires the applicant to check one or more of the following “underrepresented minorities”: African American, Hispanic American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Native Pacific Islander.

MU spokesperson Janet Kacskos wrote in an email Thursday that the program will continue running unless the university receives instructions to stop. While the university has received a copy of the Equal Protection Project’s letter to the U.S. Department of Education, Kacskos wrote in an email, the university hasn’t been contacted by the Office of Civil Rights. The university is awaiting further guidance from the U.S. Department of Education and its legal counsel, she wrote.

“Millersville University is dedicated to upholding our core values of exploration, professionalism, public mission, inclusion, integrity and compassion,” Kacskos wrote. “We will continue to maintain an environment in which all members of our campus community feel safe and supported while pursuing their educational and professional goals.”

PASSHE spokesperson Kevin Hensil wrote in an email that the universities named in the complaint were awarded a National Science Foundation grant in fall 2023 to fund the alliance program. Through the alliance, the participating universities provided STEM learning opportunities in accordance with the grant and federal guidelines, Hensil wrote.

The Equal Protection Project, a project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation launched in 2023, states on its website that there’s “no ‘good’ form of racism” and targets programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. According to its website, the Legal Insurrection Foundation was launched in 2019 as a national free speech and free expression investigative media organization. It stems from the conservative law and politics website, Legal Insurrection.

The project has challenged programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University in Illinois and the George Floyd scholarship available at multiple universities. The killing of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020 sparked national outrage over police brutality against people of color.

The Equal Protection Project did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.


Want the latest headlines sent to your inbox each evening? Sign up for our free daily P.M. newsletter here. 

 

Support for WITF is provided by:

Become a WITF sponsor today »

Support for WITF is provided by:

Become a WITF sponsor today »

Up Next
Regional & State News

Tec Centro marks 10th anniversary while workforce network fosters regional expansion