CEO Selects 2026 Fifth Annual Civil Rights Fellows: A Record-Breaking Class

Center for Equal OpportunityAbout CEOUSA

Dear Supporters, We are thrilled to announce the selection of our 2026 class of Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) Civil Rights Fellows. This year marks a historic milestone for our organization. We received an unprecedented level of interest from highly qualified law students and young leaders across the nation, and as a result, we are proud to welcome a record-breaking class of fellows—our largest and most formidable cohort to date. This expansion reflects the growing urgency and importance of our mission. As cultural and institutional challenges to colorblind equal opportunity continue to evolve, the need for principled, well-trained attorneys and …

Honoring Memorial Day & Welcoming Our Newest Team Member

Center for Equal OpportunityKeeping Up with CEO

Dear CEO Supporters, As we head into Memorial Day weekend, all of us at the Center for Equal Opportunity join you in pausing to honor and remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation, our freedom, and the constitutional principles we hold dear. It is in that very spirit of preserving America’s founding principles that we look to the future of our movement. As CEO continues its critical work defending colorblind equal opportunity and merit-based public policy, strengthening our legal pipeline remains a top priority. Today, we are thrilled to introduce the newest …

Federal Investigation at UCLA Follows Decades of CEO Advocacy

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation

Dear Supporters, We have major news to share in the fight for colorblind equality. A Department of Justice investigation has determined that the UCLA School of Medicine has been illegally using race as a factor in its admissions process. This finding serves as a powerful reminder: This investigation—and the legal accountability we are seeing today—would never have been possible without the Center for Equal Opportunity’s relentless efforts over more than 30 years. Establishing the Intellectual and Legal Framework for Colorblind Equal Opportunity The current accountability at UCLA is the direct result of a strategic foundation that CEO has spent three …

2026 CEO Civil Rights Fellowship Accepting Applications

Center for Equal OpportunityAbout CEOUSA

It is with great joy that the Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) announces and begins accepting applications today for its 2026 Civil Rights Fellowship. The program, which will take place in August of 2026 is intended for law students with an interest in a career in a public, private, or nonprofit setting where their instruction and training can be shared with the public, the courts, and/or through policy development. LEARN MORE Related posts: TESTIMONY OF ROGER CLEGG, PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL, CENTER FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BEFORE THE U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS REGARDING THE PROPOSED EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT Where there’s smoke, …

David Rubenstein profiles Linda Chavez on C-SPAN

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CEO chairman Linda Chavez will be profiled for one hour this Sunday on America’s Book Club with David Rubenstein on C-SPAN at 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET. She will be discussing her decades long career in public service, her work at CEO, and her nonfiction and fiction books with prominent businessman, lawyer and philanthropist, David Rubenstein. Please check your local listings. From C-SPAN’s announcement: Linda Chavez is an author and former Reagan administration official who held several positions, leading the White House Public Liaison office, serving as staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and chairing the National Commission on Migrant Education. She was …

CEO chairman slams DEI on PBS

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CEO chairman Linda Chavez was on PBS this week to discuss, among other current events, the problems with DEI. Chavez, a regular panelist on PBS’s “To the Contrary” said: “I’m a longtime critic of DEI. I spent 25 years as a Director at Fortune 500 companies. I was the chair of the governance committee. Half of our board members were female—but we didn’t use DEI—we cast a wider net, making sure that we included people who could add value to the company with their expertise. And we got terrific people.” Chavez added: “The problem with DEI policies, certainly we saw it …

CEO welcomes new Visiting Economist

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CEO is happy to announce the commencement of a new research project in support of equality in higher education post Students for Fair Admissions. Simon Laird is joining CEO as our new Visiting Economist. He will be spearheading CEO’s research into racial preferences in scholarship awards in professional programs. Simon has his Master’s degree in Economics from George Mason and is currently completing his Ph.D. in Economics, also at George Mason. We are thrilled to welcome him to the CEO team. Related posts: Politicized external review panels as unguided “diversity” missiles: California university administrators remain ultra-slow learners Peter Abernathy joins CEO as …

CEO Media Blitz to Reach Broader Audience

Center for Equal OpportunityUncategorized

The Center for Equal Opportunity has been stepping up its media efforts to take our message to an even broader audience. CEO Chairman Linda Chavez appeared on the BBC News Channel several times recently to discuss recent court rulings to rein in immigration enforcement activities in Minnesota. On Sunday, February 22, Ms. Chavez will be profiled for an hour by philanthropist David M. Rubinstein on CSPAN’s America’s Book World, where she will discuss her work at CEO, her long career in civil rights, and her books. Check your local listings. CEO general counsel Shawna Bray was recently quoted prominently in …

CEO’s Shawna Bray quoted in Washington Post on Illegal DEI

Center for Equal OpportunityGovernment Activity

From Washington Post Article 12/30/25 Why Trump’s EEOC wants to talk to White men about discrimination Armed with a quorum and GOP majority, Chair Andrea Lucas is pressing new priorities — such as dismantling DEI — that critics say have turned the agency’s mission “on its head.” In mid-December, the nation’s leading workplace civil rights enforcer took to social media to pose a question: “Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex?” Andrea Lucas, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, appeared in the video, urging those who have to contact …

The Rise of Latino Conservatism

Center for Equal OpportunityKeeping Up with CEO

CEO chairman Linda Chavez visited Washington University in St. Louis this month to discuss rising conservativism among Hispanics and the role immigration policy may play in that movement.  Chavez addressed a packed meeting of the Federalist Society and Latin American Law Student Association.  Joining Chavez was Washington University Law School professor Sheldon Evans.  Chavez told the audience that the rise of Latino conservatism has been taking place over decades, a phenomenon she chronicled in her first book Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation. She noted that more than 50 years ago, President Richard Nixon received nearly one-third of Mexican Americans’ votes in his re-election, while both …