Some Universities Plan To Eliminate Minority Scholarships After SCOTUS Ban On Using Race In Admissions

Some Universities Plan To Eliminate Minority Scholarships After SCOTUS Ban On Using Race In Admissions

Jack Applewhite on July 5, 2023

Some universities are seeking to eliminate scholarships for minorities after the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action banned using race in admissions decisions.

The legality of scholarships offered exclusively to minority students was not addressed by the Supreme Court in its recent ruling. Despite the uncertainty regarding the status of these scholarships, the University of Missouri system and the University of Kentucky announced plans to do away with race-based awarding of financial aid.

A statement from the University of Missouri system Thursday, the same day the Supreme Court decision was made public, said that all universities in the state would eliminate scholarships that consider race or ethnicity as a factor in awarding funds.

“As allowed by prior law, a small number of our programs and scholarships have used race/ethnicity as a factor for admissions and scholarships. Those practices will be discontinued, and we will abide by the new Supreme Court ruling concerning legal standards that applies to race-based admissions and race-based scholarships,” the statement read.

The statement comes after Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sent a letter on June 29 to universities across the state directing them to end policies that use “race-based standards,” according to the letter.

Bailey separately said in a June 29 tweet that he was putting the state’s universities “on notice” in lieu of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

SCOTUS has struck down affirmative action.

I have put dozens of universities and municipalities across the state on notice to immediately cease any use of illegal, discriminatory race-based policies. pic.twitter.com/v0LVY3B6hN

— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) June 29, 2023

The University of Kentucky also released a statement Thursday stating that it would comply with the Supreme Court ruling and would no longer consider race as a factor in awarding scholarships.

“We are still reviewing the details of the ruling, but, based on our initial understanding, it appears that the Court has restricted the consideration of race with respect to admissions and scholarships,” University President Eli Capilouto wrote in the statement.

“We will continue to review this decision as we prepare to fully comply with the law as described in today’s rulings,” Capilouto said.

Wisconsin may also do away with minority scholarships at its public universities by repealing state laws that allow for them, according to Republican state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

“We are reviewing the [Supreme Court] decision and will introduce legislation to correct the discriminatory laws on the books and pass repeals in the fall,” Vos wrote in a tweet on June 29.