The University of Kentucky will determine, over the next 60 days, which “identity-based” organizations can receive university support in compliance with federal instruction.
UK Spokesperson Jay Blanton could not confirm which organizations qualify as “identity-based.”
“We have seen the federal government look at identity based by color, identity based by sexual orientation, could be a number of things,” Blanton said. “We’re looking at those, but those would be good examples.”
However, he said the university is working on solidifying these guidelines in adherence to the federal Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race and national origin.
In an Oct. 1 campus-wide email, UK President Eli Capilouto said the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
According to a letter OCR sent to Capilouto, Title VI states, “No person shall, on the basis of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
In the letter, OCR said UK’s partnership with the PhD Project violated Title VI. The PhD Project is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide minority students with easier access to graduate business programs, according to the campus-wide email.
Blanton said UK spent $5,000 annually throughout its partnership with the PhD Project to attend the organization’s conference.
“The federal government has said that’s an illegal relationship or a violation of law under the Civil Rights Act, and ‘we want you to go and see, are there other relationships you have that are like that,’” Blanton said.
When the OCR began its investigation in March 2025, the email said UK ended its relationship with the PhD Project.
However, OCR concluded UK “endorsed, promoted and benefited from a program that limited participation based on race,” in September 2025, according to the letter sent to Capilouto.
Today, Capilouto signed a resolution agreement to conclude OCR’s investigation, requiring the university to report other organizations in which UK has an “agreement, membership or partnership” that “may restrict participation based on race” within 60 days.
Although it is unclear which identity-based groups the university will continue supporting, Blanton said groups will not be asked to disband.
“This does not suggest that the groups cannot get together on campus based on identity or other affinities, I’m not suggesting that,” Blanton said. “What I’m saying is, this is a question of, what can the institution fund? What kind of contracts can it have? What kind of partnerships or relationships can it have? That’s what we’re talking about.”
