College
Dartmouth Announces $100M STEM Program, White Students Need Not Apply?
On December 6th, the Ivy League Dartmouth College announced a new $100 million STEM program.
Their press release reads more like a woke, virtue-signaling, social justice diatribe, than a traditional announcement of additional investments in educational opportunities.
Phrases such as “underrepresented groups” appear multiple times to the exclusion of other students, such as those of European descent with white skin coloring.
According to a press release, the program called Dartmouth STEM-X was created “to increase access and leadership opportunities for historically underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and prepare the next generation of leaders in these fields.”
“We are acting on two contrary truths—American innovation benefits greatly when diverse perspectives are applied to a problem, and yet the pipeline of advanced-degree recipients in STEM from underrepresented groups falls far short of representation levels in our society,” said school President Philip J. Hanlon.”
But it appears that white male students need not apply. The press release identifies those who will benefit from the initiative as “Black, Latinx, and Native Americans” as well as women.
Halfway through the release, there is a section called: Addressing a Critical Need.
“In the U.S. today, Black, Latinx, and Native Americans are underrepresented in STEM fields, as are women and first-generation students, directly impacting the quality of the national scientific research enterprise and its potential to improve society, say experts in the STEM fields. The shortage has far-reaching implications in the private sector, public policy, and in academia.”
Several experts on Title IX sex discrimination and Title VI race discrimination law are concerned about the legality of the program, according to comments they made to The College Fix.
The program will be partially funded by a $25 million grant from Penny and James Coulter, a billionaire couple who made money through their private equity company TPG Capital. In addition to the Coulters’ grant, Dartmouth has raised $35 million to fund the program and seeks to raise an additional $40 million, bringing the total cost to $100 million.
The Fix reached out multiple times to Dartmouth’s media team and the Coulters through their company to ask about the specifics of the program and if they had any concerns about granting awards based on race rather than merit but did not receive a response to inquiries sent in the past week.
The initiative will include “an undergraduate scholarship program,” “curricular innovation,” and “enhanced career and graduate school advising,” all with the goal of “advanc[ing] STEM participation and leadership of underrepresented groups,” according to the university’s news release.
The program is a “three-year, cohesive diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic plan that cuts across both academic and administrative areas of the institution.”
Bion Bartning, the founder and president of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, a civil rights legal advocacy group, told The Fix in an email that a scholarship program which excludes individuals based on skin color would not be “lawful.”
Groups included in the STEM-X initiative, according to Dartmouth, include 'Black, Latinx, and Native Americans, as well as 'women.' https://t.co/olxCzrhLMZ
— The College Fix (@CollegeFix) December 27, 2022
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