Trump Singled Out These 130 Colleges as Possible Targets for Investigation. Is Yours on the List?

In a sweeping executive order aimed at dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, President Donald J. Trump directed each federal agency to “identify up to nine potential civil rights compliance investigations” of various organizations, including higher-education institutions with endowments over $1 billion.

Trump’s directive was included in a section about ending diversity programs and hiring practices in the private sector. However, the order doesn’t specify that only private colleges would be scrutinized as part of these investigations.

The order doesn’t define DEI but asserts that DEI efforts violate civil-rights laws because institutions use such policies to promote “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences.” The document also withdrew the decades-old executive order that required colleges to adopt fair-hiring practices, known as equal employment opportunity. Several of Trump’s other executive actions have already drawn legal challenges.

Per the DEI order, federal investigations of higher-education institutions and other organizations will be part of a “strategic enforcement plan” developed by each agency to go after diversity efforts. Those plans will also include identifying “the most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners in each sector of concern” as well as potential lawsuits and regulatory actions, the order states.

Here are the 131 undergraduate campuses with endowments over $1 billion, as of 2023, that could be targeted under Trump’s order. (This list does not include system offices, medical schools, and other graduate-only institutions.)