Carnegie Mellon, Reed Smith subjects of federal DEI crackdown

Two venerable Pittsburgh institutions are among those caught in the crosshairs of a governmentwide crackdown on efforts to provide equal opportunities for people.

And unless they can credibly attest their efforts at inclusion are part of a plan to compensate for past discriminatory practices, they may be in violation of the law, according to Sam Cordes, a Pittsburgh attorney with decades of labor law experience.

“The statute is pretty clear,” Cordes said.

Carnegie Mellon University is among 45 universities facing a probe by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the department said last week.

“The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination,” a statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon reads. “Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment.”

The schools on the list, which also include The Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Yale universities, partnered with a group called The Ph.D. Project.

It started in 1994 as a group that aims to help minority students earn advanced degrees with the goal being to provide more role models in business classrooms, according to an emailed statement to TribLive from the project.

“This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision,” the statement reads.

Federal investigators notified CMU about the probe, a statement from the college said.

“We are carefully reviewing the matter to determine next steps and ensure compliance with the law,” said spokeswoman Cassia Crogan.

Pittsburgh-based law firm Reed Smith is also being targeted for its DEI practices, according to a letter from acting Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas.

“The EEOC is prepared to root out discrimination anywhere it may rear its head, including in our nation’s elite law firms,” Lucas said in a statement. “No one is above the law — and certainly not the private bar.”

Reed Smith didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The moves signal a shift in federal policy under the Trump administration that was promised before the election.

Previously the Department of Education worked under the assumption that DEI initiatives were being used to rectify past discrimination, something that’s valid under the law, Cordes said.

The EEOC doesn’t generally initiate investigations — or even comment on them — without a complaint being filed, Cordes said.

Discrimination is defined legally as giving one race or class of people an advantage or preference over another. It doesn’t require animosity against the people being excluded, Cordes said.