- CEO Civil Rights Fellowship. CEO completed its third annual legal fellowship this summer, hosting ten law students from some of the top law schools in the country for a week of activities and training in Washington, D.C. They received instruction at a series of seminars with many of the best legal and policy minds in America and media training to prepare a new generation to speak out on colorblind principles.
- Studies on use of race and ethnicity. CEO released several studies in 2023-24, including “Racial and Preferences in Undergraduate Admissions to the University of Maryland.” Since 1995, CEO has conducted studies of the effects of racial preferences at some 80 schools nationwide, showing lower graduation rates for black and Hispanic students admitted with lower test scores and grades. Links to our studies and amicus briefs can be found on our website at www.ceousa.org.
- SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC and other key court cases. CEO filed briefs in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC, the milestone affirmative action cases that banned race as a factor in college admissions. CEO played a major role in this battle, as it has for over a quarter-century in the fight for colorblind equal opportunity (see: www.ceousa.org/timeline). We coordinated our efforts with allies and appealed to the Court in media appearances and op-eds. CEO also filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting petitioners in the case of Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board (the Board). The case involves a challenge to the racially discriminatory overhaul of the admissions practices at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, VA. CEO urges the Court to take the case and expand on its position in the Fair Admissions case.
- After Affirmative Action Network. CEO launched the After Affirmative Action (AAA) Network to follow up on the success of the Harvard and North Carolina cases. In a meeting with like-minded organizations held by the Federalist Society, CEO agreed to lead the effort to gather and distribute information to litigation allies and the public on what schools are doing after the Supreme Court decision in SFFA vs Harvard and SFFA vs North Carolina. These efforts will help ensure compliance with the law in an environment where proponents of race-based preferences are already announcing massive resistance.
- Battling Critical Race Theory. CEO has played a significant role in the fight against Critical Race Theory (CRT), a controversial doctrine that asserts that all institutions are infected by racism. CEO staff have written about these issues in major publications, discussed them on national TV, radio, podcasts, in front of live audiences at colleges and universities, and have consistently flagged the issue for conservative media.
- Media efforts. CEO published op-eds in, among others, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Bulwark, Townhall.com, National Review, Persuasion, and Real Clear Politics. We made appearances on FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and interviewed on NPR, Monocle News, and dozens of national and local radio stations. CEO chairman Linda Chavez is a weekly guest on the podcast Beg to Differ. CEO president and general counsel Devon Westhill is a regular guest on podcasts and nationally syndicated radio shows. Our staff is regularly interviewed by local and national media on issues of race and ethnicity.
- Coordinating our efforts with other organizations. Mr. Westhill coordinates our efforts with the Federalist Society, Heritage Foundation, Pacific Legal Foundation, and other organizations on a regular basis. Ms. Chavez chairs the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project Working Group on Race and Sex, and CEO board member Roger Clegg is a member as is CEO senior fellow Stuart Taylor. CEO has also been active with the Title IX Council. CEO has joined several other prominent organizations in signing onto a project of the Philanthropy Roundtable to promote “True Diversity.” Unlike the left’s definition of diversity—which means preferences for some on the basis of skin color—the principles CEO has endorsed include valuing each individual and seeking diverse perspectives.