The United States Department of State is preparing to remove thirty-eight prominent universities, including several Ivy League institutions, from a federal research partnership scheme due to their diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices.
Which Universities Face Suspension?
According to an internal memorandum dated 17th November and obtained by the Guardian, elite institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University are among those marked for suspension from the Diplomacy Lab programme. The exclusions would take effect from 1st January 2026.
Other universities facing removal include the University of Southern California, American University, George Washington University, Syracuse University and several campuses within the University of California system. The decision follows a near year-long campaign by the Trump administration against DEI initiatives in higher education.
How the Diplomacy Lab Programme Works
The Diplomacy Lab, authorised in 2013, pairs academic researchers with State Department policy offices to conduct semester-long projects addressing foreign policy challenges. The programme provides universities with valuable real-world research opportunities while giving the State Department access to academic expertise and potential future recruits.
An accompanying spreadsheet reviewed by the Guardian employs a colour-coded system evaluating seventy-five universities on a four-point scale. Institutions demonstrating "clear DEI hiring policy" are marked in red for suspension, while those with "merit-based hiring with no evidence of DEI" are marked in green to maintain their partnerships.
Replacement Institutions and Policy Changes
Should the recommendations proceed, the academic partnership network would undergo significant restructuring. Suspended institutions would be replaced with new partners including Liberty University, Brigham Young University and several schools in Missouri and Texas.
The memorandum further indicates that an office within the State Department's bureau of public affairs will update suitability criteria to "only include institutions with merit-based hiring practices" and exclude those with DEI hiring policies, whether implemented openly or discreetly.
Letters notifying institutions of discontinued participation will be dispatched pending approval of the proposal.
Among the universities recommended to remain in the programme are Columbia University, MIT, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia and University of Texas at Austin. Notably, several of these institutions moved to comply with the administration's demands earlier this year.
In July, Columbia University agreed to pay more than $200 million to the federal government and pledged not to use "race, colour, sex, or national origin" in hiring decisions across all departments. Meanwhile, University of Virginia president James Ryan resigned in June after the justice department demanded he step down over the school's diversity practices.
The State Department has not immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the proposed changes.
