University of St. Thomas scrambling after Dept. of Ed cuts millions in funding
The University of St. Thomas says it will continue to fund scholarships for 185 students after a federal grant for the university’s special education program was unexpectedly canceled by the federal government.
The $6.3 million grant was targeted under President Donald Trump’s effort to cut programs the government considers “diversity, equity and inclusion,” or DEI. Trump and Elon Musk, under Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency, cut more than $900 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education this week.
St. Thomas president Rob Vischer says the university was taken by surprise by the cut and does not consider the program DEI.
“The population of the students reflects the population of the communities we serve, so a majority of the students receiving the scholarships are white students,” he told MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition.
“We didn’t have any racial preferences or requirements or quotas, nothing like that.”
Vischer said the program was intended to make master’s degrees more affordable and produce more than 300 teachers for Minnesota schools. Many of the program’s participants are already paraprofessionals working in districts across the state.
The Biden-era grant required language about increasing diversity in the teaching profession, he said. Vischer believes the program could be brought into alignment with the new administration’s priorities.
“The criteria that were required just a few months ago are now the very reasons why the already-awarded grants are being canceled,” Vischer said.
The University is exploring options to appeal the decision and talking to elected officials, Vischer said — and has committed to funding the students for the rest of the semester.
Funding for other Minnesota colleges and universities may also be on the chopping block. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, released a database of thousands of federal grants this week he considers “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or advanced neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda.”
The database names at least 45 programs in Minnesota, including Augsburg University, Carleton College, the College of St. Benedict, Macalester College, the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and Gustavus Adolphus College.
