USC removes race-based program language in response to conservative scholar's OCR complaint

The University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business has revised an admissions program following a federal civil rights complaint by a conservative scholar.

The program in question at USC, the Marshall Pathways Program, increased the “Black transfer student population by 40 percent” in 2021, according to the business school. The school also wrote in 2021 that the program was created “specifically to target talented Black and Black multi-racial students who for whatever reasons did not make the initial cut for USC admission.” 

According to the university, the program also works with the Marshall Office of Admissions and would flag rejected applicants to inform them that they had a “second chance” to transfer into Marshall as sophomores. 

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Following a complaint filed by Mark Perry, a former professor at the University of Michigan-Flint, certain race-based language in the program has been replaced. 

Perry filed a complaint this January with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, claiming that the university is in violation of laws which prohibit race-based discrimination.

In June of 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against race-based admissions in higher education. In response to the January complaint, USC appeared to alter the wording on the program’s website, removing specific mentioning of race in the description. 

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In a letter to Mark Perry, Annamaria Loya of the Office for Civil Rights stated: “At the time you filed your complaint, the Program’s website indicated that it was an initiative ‘designed to support Black and African-American prospective transfer students throughout the applicant and matriculation processes.’” 

Responding to claims that the program at the Marshall School of Business uses race-based criteria, Loya stated in the letter that the office “[r]eviewed the Program and took steps to ensure that the Program does not have any criteria for participation that is based on race, color, or national origin.” 

The program’s description no longer refers to “Black or African-American students,” but instead “prospective transfer students.”

Other colleges and universities have also faced legal challenges related to race-based discrimination. 

On May 15, students at the University of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against the school for allegedly offering financial aid based on race. 

Campus Reform has contacted Mark Perry and the Marshall School of Business for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.