URI targeted with federal complaint over scholarships

KINGSTON — A conservative non-profit advocacy group based in Bristol is asking the federal government to investigate the University of Rhode Island’s approach to awarding certain kinds of scholarships whose eligibility might violate U.S. civil rights laws.

The Equal Protection Project has asserted similar claims against several other universities in the country. The complaint was filed last week with the U.S. Department of Education.

URI officials, as of this week, had not yet reviewed the substance of the allegations, said spokeswoman Dawn Bergantino.

“The University works diligently to comply with the regulatory landscape, and we remain committed to our foundational values,

including fostering an inclusive community and respect for the rights and dignity of all,” she said.

William Jacobson, a Cornell University clinical law professor who leads the nonprofit, confirmed that his organization has yet to look at other universities in Rhode Island.

He said his organization targeted URI on the basis that it “received a tip that there were problems at URI, we investigated, and found that there was sufficient basis to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education.”

The complaint is in a similar fashion to more than 25 other complaints filed with federal education officials.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education did not return a request for comment about the URI issue or others that have been filed by this organization.

The Rhode Island nonprofit, encouraged by last year’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibiting the use of race in college admissions, has found this a useful decision in which to base the URI and other university allegations.

It is also alleging that restricting eligibility to students based on race, gender, color, and national origin is a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The complaint specifically points to qualifications as either a female or minority student, excluding other students of different genders, non-binary or racial or ethnic backgrounds, to qualify for over 50 scholarships or other such similar awards. For example, it lists: • Alumni of Color Network Scholars Fund - “The Fund shall support a student of color (deriving from either a racial and/or ethnic minority group)…”

• Bank of America Scholarship - “Income from endowment for two four-year scholarships for minority students, preferably one male and one female.”

• Citizens Bank Endowed Scholarship - “Income from the endowment will be awarded to minority students with financial need who live in Rhode Island.”

• Dr. Robert L. Carothers Student Leadership Endowment - “The fund shall provide annual scholarships to URI students of color who provide leadership in broad university programs…”

• Mary Braga Scholarship - “Income from endowment for a scholarship awarded to a female undergraduate of the College of Arts and Sciences of Portuguese descent.”

• Douglas & Jennifer Cote Endowed Scholarship - “The endowment shall be used to fund a scholarship annually for a Hispanic or African American male undergraduate student…”

• Amy Janes Bare Memorial Endowment - “Income from endowment for a scholarship awarded annually with preference to a deserving female student…”

• Andrew J. Newman & John W. Chapman Scholarship“Income from endowment awarded annually to a worthy male student in need of financial assistance, preferably a member of the Lambda Chi…”

These and others, whose information is found on the university’s website, that restrict “scholarships by race and/or sex violates federal law, which is binding on URI because it receives federal funding, including from the Department of Education,” Jacobson said.

In June, it filed a complaint against Minnesota State University Moorhead, alleging that five of the university’s scholarships are discriminatory.

A formal investigation was opened by federal officials into EEP’S complaint regarding the Creando Comunidad: Community Engaged Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Fellows fellowship program at the University of Wisconsin-madison.

Federal officials dismissed the complaint after university officials changed the criteria to eliminate the racial qualifications for the fellowship.

Jacobson may set his sights on other schools in Rhode Island, he said this week.

“We have not examined other universities in Rhode Island yet, but likely will do so. We did file a complaint regarding a discriminatory program in the Providence public school system,” he said.