Trump goes after the PhD Project

Trump goes after the PhD Project

I used to hear employers say that there were no qualified blacks for a particular job. The same was true at universities. Well affirmative action and DEI compelled them to broaden their search. But what if the pool of minority candidates were small as is the case in some areas of the university such as engineering or business? The question is how do you increase that pool? One way has been the PhD project, which is currently being assailed by the Trump Administration.  

KPMB started the PhD project in 1994 to grow the pool of minority PhDs in accounting even though the company itself hired very few PhDs. It later expanded to include other areas in business. I was asked to help facilitate bringing in more Finance PhD candidates. I did so gladly because there were precious few minority PhDs in Finance and the pool of graduate students was pitifully small. What I, and others, did was to put a space for research papers and ideas of students in the PhD project in our annual meetings. I was an officer in one large association and the editor of the journal in another. Mind you, the PhD project was encouraging students to get PhDs in business and providing them with counselling and assistance. Students had to apply and be accepted in a PhD program. The PhD Project provided mentoring services. When they were awarded the degree, they were then available to be in the pool of candidates hired by universities. The link with the academic associations provided universities with access to the students in the PhD Project. Since the annual meetings are often the recruiting market for the disciplines, the universities’ pool of candidates is greatly enhanced. The search costs for qualified minority candidates are greatly lowered.

Go to phdproject.org. and there you will see that their mission is to broaden the pool of business school faculty to “encourage, mentor, and support tomorrow’s leaders”. This is important because it will show bright young minds what an academic career entails and its attractions both financially and intellectually. I was the only black in my PhD program at Ohio State and my professors could not recall if another had ever been in the program. There was one in finance but we never had a class together.

During my years as a professor there have been precious few minorities in my classes – except for the year spent at Howard University. I have always mentored students both black and white and encouraged them to include academics in their career decisions. I admit I have probably tried harder to get minorities and women interested in a PhD. The PhD project has been successful in expanding the pool. Ninety percent of its students earn a PhD and 97% accept a faculty position. Over 1,800 new faculty have been mentored in the PhD project. There are now chaired professors and deans that otherwise might not have considered a PhD who are contributing to business education.

Now the Trump administration has sent notice to the university partners of the PhD project in its never ending quest to stomp out everything that is DEI. As a result some universities are now terminating their relationship with the organization. NPR reports that “The U.S. Department of Education has launched investigations into 52 universities in 41 states, accusing the schools of using “racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities. The department’s Office of Civil Rights said that the schools violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act by partnering with the PhD Project, a nonprofit that helps students from underrepresented groups earn doctoral degrees in business. The program focuses on supporting black, Latino and Native American students.” The PhD Project responded “Our vision is to create a broader talent pipeline of current and future business leaders.” “This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision.”

I want the PhD Project to continue its good work. It is interesting that Trump has vowed to get rid of the Department of Education and yet it is that department that is seeking to terminate the relationship between the universities and the PhD Project. I hope it fails. I would hope that the underrepresented groups served by the PhD project would expand to include first generation white students and those from economically depressed areas such as Appalachia. Perhaps that would satisfy the Trump zealots. The PhD project has proven to be the most effective source in expanding the pool of minority PhDs. May it continue to do so.