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Some of the nation’s most selective business schools are retreating from longstanding diversity partnerships in response to federal pressure, ending decades of cooperation with organizations designed to recruit underrepresented students.
The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, founded in 1966 to increase access for minority candidates, has been hit particularly hard. After reaching a record of 25 participating schools in the 2025 admissions cycle, several have since withdrawn. The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business cited “regulatory compliance requirements” for its exit, while the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business paused its involvement due to “heightened scrutiny.”
Shortly afterward, the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management disappeared from the Consortium’s website. Booth had joined just a year earlier.
Federal crackdown reshapes policy
The Department of Education triggered the shift on February 14, when its Office for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to all federally funded institutions. It claimed diversity, equity and inclusion efforts amounted to “pervasive and repugnant … racial discrimination” and warned against outsourcing race-conscious practices to third parties.
The Justice Department reinforced that stance over the summer, stating that recruiting efforts aimed at changing racial balance in classrooms could be considered unlawful.
Attorney Josh Richards of Saul Ewing in Philadelphia said the government is “essentially taking a case that was specific to a context and applying that case to all contexts.” He added, “If the intent were to shift the proportion of race in the class, the government would probably say that that’s unlawful.”
Business schools scaling back
The consequences have been widespread. Booth confirmed it has ended ties with at least seven partner organizations, while Kellogg appears to have dropped many of its own. Harvard Business School, Wharton, and others have also scaled back.
Chicago Booth spokesperson Marielle Sainvilus called the decision “difficult” but emphasized the school would “continue to embrace diversity of thought and viewpoints.”
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Meanwhile, groups such as Prospanica, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, the Forté Foundation, and Reaching Out MBA have all reported losing partners. The National Black MBA Association has seen nearly half its 40 business school relationships disappear since January.
The future impact on enrollment remains unclear. Former UC Berkeley assistant dean Peter Johnson argued participation in DEI groups is vital: “There are prospective students that will make a choice among top programs based on where they will be welcome.”
Yet one anonymous business school dean acknowledged many institutions may not fight: “They don’t think they can win. I’m not seeing, nor do I foresee, a school putting it all on the line to fight for DEI.”
