Amid DEI Backlash, UT Austin’s McCombs Quietly Ends 40-Year Partnership With The Consortium

The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business appears to have ended its decades-long partnership with the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management effective July 1, according to a consortium email to prospective applicants obtained by Poets&Quants.

“Due to recent changes in state and federal policies regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, UT Austin has notified us that they will be ending our formal partnership,” writes Consortium Vice President for Graduate Programs Michael J. Bates in an email to applicants that was forwarded to P&Q.

“This decision comes after four decades of collaboration since our partnership began in 1984,” he writes. “This separation is not a reflection of the value or quality of our work together. UT Austin has made clear that this decision is purely driven by regulatory compliance requirements, not by any dissatisfaction with our partnership or mission.”

McCombs’ full-time MBA Class of 2025 included 37 students who were members of the Consortium, about 15% of the 241 students in the class.

TRUMP’S ONGOING WAR AGAINST DEI

The break up is just the latest in a long line of state and national DEI rollbacks amid the Trump Administration’s intensifying push to remove race-conscious policies from higher education.

Within days of the inauguration of his second term, Trump signed several executive orders ending DEI programs in the federal government. The administration and its allies have more recently set their sights on higher education, and several universities and university systems – particularly public schools in Red states that rely on federal money – have also pulled back on DEI initiatives amid Republican crackdowns.

The administration has also filed lawsuits against elite schools like Columbia and Harvard over similar grounds, and is still fighting to revoke Harvard’s certification to host international students through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).

Perhaps the most egregious development is the ouster of University of Virginia President James Ryan who announced on June 26 that he was stepping down under pressure from a justice department investigation into its DEI policies. Ryan, a vocal defender of diversity and inclusion, will will remain on the faculty.

Critics say the DOJ’s intervention is a threat to academic freedom and a threat to institutional autonomy. Inside Higher Ed reported that it is the first time federal officials explicitly tied grant funding to the removal of a university official (see How The Trump Administration Is Strong Arming Higher Education).

Meanwhile, several states have enacted laws targeting DEI initiatives, even before Trump took office. In Texas, UT–Austin last year eliminated roughly 60 DEI-related positions and shut down its Division of Campus & Community Engagement to comply with Senate Bill 17, which went into effect in January, 2024. Ending the McCombs–Consortium partnership is just the latest chapter in a sweeping purge of diversity measures.

END OF A 40-YEAR PARTNERSHIP

The Consortium was founded in 1966 at Washington University in St. Louis when management professor Sterling Schoen realized that no Fortune 500 company of the time had an African American in its management. He and others created a network of universities who pledged to help Black students earn MBAs and enter corporate leadership pipelines.

Today, the Consortium has 24 top business schools and more than 75 corporate partners in its network and has expanded its mission to create pathways for underrepresented minorities in graduate management education. University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business was the latest school to join, effective July 1, 2024.

The networks provide full-tuition fellowships, professional development, and a powerful network of peers and alumni for MBAs.

UT McCombs joined the Consortium in 1984, and has hosted hundreds of Consortium fellows. Recent McCombs MBA classes included 29 to 37 fellows annually, according to class profile data.

The school’s exit leaves a noticeable gap but does not shake the organization’s foundation, Bates writes.

“If you were considering UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business as part of your graduate education plans, we strongly encourage you to apply directly to their programs. While our formal partnership has ended, McCombs remains an outstanding institution with excellent graduate programs that may align with your academic and career goals,” he says.

A QUIET EXIT

So far, McCombs’ exit from its 40-year partnership has been a quiet one. There doesn’t appear to be any formal announcement from either the Consortium or the business school as of July 3.

Poets&Quants has reached out to Bates, UT Texas at Austin, and McCombs Business School for further comment and clarification, but have not heard back as of publication. We will continue to update the story as more information comes in.

But, user ConsiderationFew6406, posted Bate’s email to the popular Reddit thread, r/MBA. Several users expressed their dismay.

“Class of ’27 Consortium fellow at UT here. Really disappointed that I’m the last Consortium class but also not really surprised. I think we’re gonna see more public schools following pretty soon,” one user wrote.

“This is not going to be a UT-specific problem. The federal government took down the president of UVA, and Darden’s participation in the Consortium was cited as evidence. It seems inevitable for the Consortium to get killed at every MBA program,” wrote another.

Added user 007Spy: “Pretty disappointing to see this, not sure what UT A saw down the line or what has been broached with them to move to this decision. Hopefully this does not snowball into something worse in terms of other schools.”

As of July 3, University of Virginia Darden School of Business is listed on the Consortium’s page of business school partners. McCombs is not.

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