The Diversifying Higher Education Equality in Illinois program, which provides financial aid exclusively to minority graduate students pursuing careers in higher education, is under fire for its race-based eligibility criteria, as it does not allow white applicants.
Center-right legal experts argue the program violates federal law, and participating universities – including the prestigious Northwestern University and University of Chicago – could risk losing federal funding over it, especially under the current Trump administration.
The Illinois Board of Higher Education oversees the program, established in 2004 to provide scholarships to “traditionally underrepresented minority groups” in higher education.
It explicitly excludes white applicants, limiting eligibility to African American, Hispanic American, Native American, Asian American, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students, according to its website, which also notes two dozen universities across Illinois participate.
Some legal scholars argue the program’s racial restrictions are unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits race-based discrimination by institutions receiving federal funds.
“This race-exclusive program violates the Constitution and Title VI,” said Hans Bader, a Washington D.C.-based attorney who specializes in First Amendment, federalism, and civil rights issues.
“Such programs violate the Constitution, as is made clear in appeals court ruling such as Rabiebna v. Higher Education Appeals Board (2025), which struck down a racially-exclusive scholarship program in Wisconsin, and Podberesky v. Kirwan (1994), which struck down a race-exclusive scholarship at the University of Maryland,” he told The College Fix via email.
Bader also pointed to a ruling by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which declared two Kentucky state-administered scholarship programs that excluded white students illegal.
“The OCR explicitly rejected the lawfulness of such programs in a resolution with the Kentucky Department of Education of September 22, 2017,” Bader said.
The legal foundation for these rulings is reinforced by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the 2023 Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions, he said.
“The logic of that decision plainly applies to scholarship programs, not just admissions,” he said. “The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recognized this in striking down a racially-exclusive scholarship in Rabiebna v. Higher Education Appeals Board.”
University of San Diego law Professor Gail Heriot, a commissioner of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, agrees with Bader. She told the Washington Free Beacon: “This isn’t a hard one.”
“The program was illegal and unconstitutional since its inception,” she said.
Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, two of America’s most prestigious Midwest universities involved, did not respond to The College Fix’s request comment.
The Illinois Board of Higher Education also declined comment, referring inquiries to the office of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, which funds the program.
While other states have begun adjusting their policies in response to legal pressure, Illinois remains defiant. The application process for the DFI scholarship remains active, with schools currently nominating candidates for the 2025-26 academic year. The nomination deadline for this year’s selection process was March 21.
Earlier this year, the Department of Education issued a warning to universities, stating that institutions failing to comply with civil rights laws “face potential loss of federal funding.” The Trump administration has already taken action against Columbia University, cutting $400 million in grants and contracts over its handling of campus discrimination.
Illinois has continued race-based scholarship programs despite mounting legal challenges. The state is already facing litigation over its Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program, which provides funding to minority students pursuing teaching licenses.
Additionally, the University of Chicago was sued last month over its racial hiring quotas. The lawsuit challenges UIC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hiring initiatives, which plaintiffs argue impose racial preferences in faculty recruitment.
Edward Ring, senior fellow at the California Policy Center, said the cost of supporting so many DEI measures within higher education is expensive and unnecessary.
“We are spending more on administrative roles than we are on professors and Teachers Assistants. Faculty unions have worked every angle … protecting diversity or anything else … and they were just creating jobs for more bureaucrats, rather than paying faculty,” Ring told The College Fix.
MORE: Ed Dept. threatens to cut federal funds of universities with DEI programs
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A graduation cap atop money; Zimmytws / Shutterstock.com
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