“The University of Louisville and Howard University have agreed to open an MBA program to people of all races and both sexes following a federal investigation,” reports The College Fix. But the universities don’t appear to be paying any penalty for violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which is charged with enforcing Title VI, announced in a May 5 letter that the two universities would agree to spell out that the “Yum! Franchise Accelerator Fellowship is open to all eligible students regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age.” Title VI forbids discrimination on the basis of race at institutions that receive federal funding, while Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 forbids discrimination on the basis of sex.
Yum! Brands — the owner of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC — jointly operated a franchise owner training and business degree initiative with the two universities.
The Yum! Franchise Accelerator MBA advertised itself as open to “underrepresented people of color and women.”
But then University of Michigan economics professor Mark Perry filed a federal civil rights complaint. He pointed out that the program violated Title VI and Title IX by excluding some applicants based on race and gender.
To get out of being investigated, Yum! Brands agreed to state that the fellowship is open to people of all races and genders, in its own marketing materials.
The Office for Civil Rights told Dr. Perry in a letter to him closing the investigation, that his complaint has been closed due to the changed policies regarding who can apply for the the MBA initiative.
