Tulane Facing Education Department Investigation for Female-Only Scholarships

The Department of Education is investigating Tulane University over a series of scholarships that are only offered to women.

According to a report from PJ Media, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is investigating scholarships only offered to women at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Office of Civil Rights is also investigation Tulane’s female-only mentoring and internship programs.

Activists have criticized the scholarships, calling them inappropriate in an era in which men are a dwindling minority on college campuses. As of 2018, women are the majority of medical school students, law school students, as well as candidates for bachelors and doctorate degrees. Forecasts suggest that there will be even less male students in higher education over time as they opt instead for trade schools and technical professions that don’t require a degree.

University of Michigan-Flint professor Mark J. Perry argues that the female-only scholarships make male students feel less welcome on campus.

“These disparities send a subtle, or maybe even not so subtle, message to male students that they are less valued than women today in higher education,” Perry said. “Not only are men the minority gender today in higher education for both enrollment and degrees, but they are often treated like they have out-of-favor, marginalized minority status.”

Margaret C. Valois, a Title IX attorney, told PJ Media that efforts to correct historical sex discrimination have produced discrimination against men.

“Fairness benefits everyone; men and women,” Valois said. “Efforts to right the wrongs of sex discrimination in education have exacerbated the problem, resulting in discrimination against men. The more attention that is brought to these issues, the more likely the pendulum is to swing back towards fairness, where everyone is treated equally.”