Trusteeship - March/April 2021 - 5

SHUTTERSTOCK/ JOHN SMITH WILLIAMS

Mellon Foundation Gives up to $5 Million
to 15 Universities for Projects on Racial Justice
N JANUARY 13, 2021, the Mellon Foundation announced the Just Futures
higher education grant winners for projects dedicated to racial justice
and social equality. Each university received grants of up to $5 million to

implement their proposals over a three-year period. The communities featured in these
projects range from Latinx communities in Southern California to tribal nations in
Minnesota and Baltimore's Black community.

Miguel Cardona

According to the Mellon Foundation's website, the Just Futures initiative supports
scholars studying periods of crisis and disruption in order to foster cultural and social
transformation. Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander hopes this initiative
marks " new milestones in the effort to better capture the contributions of the many
different communities that make up the American story. "
The Mellon Foundation announced the following universities as winners: Brown University; Columbia University; Cornell University; Florida International University; Howard University; Johns Hopkins University; Michigan State University; the University of Texas at San

Senate Conﬁrms
Miguel Cardona
as Secretary of
Education

Antonio; the University of California at Berkeley; the University of California at Riverside; the
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities; the University of Oregon; the University of Pennsylvania; and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Department of Education Memo States Title IX
Does Not Apply to LGBTQ Discrimination
THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL
published a memorandum on January 8, 2021, stating LGBTQ students are not
expressly protected under Title IX.
The majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County declared " it is impossible
to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without
discriminating against that individual based on sex. " Yet, the memorandum denies
this landmark case's ruling is applicable to federal education law. According to the
memo, Title IX protections against sex discrimination only apply to " biological sex,
male or female, " thereby intentionally excluding members of the LGBTQ community
when they face discrimination based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Civil Rights and LGBTQ advocacy organizations immediately rebuked the
Department of Education for this memorandum. In a January 8 statement,
Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said the memorandum was
" unconscionable and legally flawed " and pressed the Biden administration to
" urgently rescind this discriminatory guidance. "
Even though the memorandum does not carry the power of a formal regulation,
it appears likely that Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will withdraw the
memorandum altogether in favor of expanding the scope of Title IX to apply to LGBTQ
discrimination.

AGB.ORG

THE U.S. SENATE confirmed Miguel
Cardona as President Joe Biden's Secretary
of Education on March 1, 2021. President
Joe Biden announced Miguel Cardona as his
nominee for Secretary of Education in late
December 2020. " Dr. Cardona has a proven
track record as an innovative leader who
will fight for all students, and for a better,
fairer, more successful education system, "
said Biden during his December 23, 2020,
announcement.
Cardona is a lifelong champion of public
schools, previously working as a fourth-grade
teacher, a principal at Hanover Elementary
School in Meriden, Connecticut, and until
recently as Connecticut's Commissioner of
Education. While Cardona's career experience
is primarily in elementary and primary education, he champions higher education as well.
Student loan forgiveness and accessibility
will be at the top of Cardona's higher
education agenda. " College is the pathway to
continued success and we have to make sure
that our students still have access to it and
that they're supposed in this process, " said
Cardona in a January 26, 2021, interview with
Connecticut Public Radio.

MAR. APR. 2021 TRUSTEESHIP 5

http://www.AGB.ORG

Trusteeship - March/April 2021

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