A civil rights complaint has been filed against the University of Tulsa (TU), alleging the school has engaged in illegal discrimination.

Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow on Higher Education Reform for The Heritage Foundation who previously served as the deputy assistant secretary for Higher Education Programs with the United States Department of Education, filed the complaint with the Kansas City Office Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, alleging Title IX and Title VI violations.

Federal Title IX law bans discrimination based on sex, while Title VI law bans discrimination based on race.

On July 8, Kissel posted on X that he had filed a federal civil rights complaint against the University of Tulsa “for running discriminatory programs, operating or advertising discriminatory scholarships, and even having a sex-based admissions goal deriving from TU’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. And more.”

The complaint, filed July 8, says the University of Tulsa has an admissions quota based on sex in order to align itself with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. TU has had a goal to “Enroll at least 80 First-Generation Female students.” So far, the complaint states, the university has exceeded that quota, enrolling more than 150 female first-generation students.

The complaint states that TU’s University Advancement and Alumni Engagement office also operates an internal scholarship with racial preferences, the Family of John Gordon Allen scholarship, which provides preferences for “African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students.”

TU’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship operates and advertises an annual AcceleratHER entrepreneurship program limited to women, which also provides $10,000 to each participating woman.

The complaint notes that the University of Tulsa’s Department of Mathematics operates a Tulsa Girls Math Circle, which is open only to female students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.

The complaint also states that the University of Tulsa not only recognizes but provides resources to the Chinese Student Association, “which, unlike other student organizations at TU, provides some services only to Chinese students” (emphasis in original).

Kissel’s complaint says that TU’s office of Graduate Financial Assistance advertises discriminatory external scholarships under the headings of “Fellowships for Underrepresented Minorities” and “Fellowships for Women.” Promotion of discriminatory external scholarships is also alleged for TU’s Center for Global Education and TU’s Student Financial Wellness office, according to the complaint.

A University of Tulsa spokesperson said school officials were reviewing the complaint and had no comment at this time.