Yale event explores role of ‘merit’ in higher education and hiring

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation

Article originally appeared on CollegeFix.com NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Buckley Institute hosted a “firing line” debate on Tuesday afternoon on the role of “merit” in college admissions as well as hiring. Devon Westhill, president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Protection, argued in favor of merit, while Yale Law School Professor Daniel Markovits took the more critical approach. “Is merit a valid measure?” the debate asked, or has it outlived its usefulness. Westhill opened by emphasizing the importance of such debates in spaces like Yale, which he argued often lack intellectual diversity, functioning as echo chambers for …

Podcast: Linda Chavez moderates discussion on the legal and historical interpretation of the term “equity.” 

Center for Equal OpportunityRacial Preferences

In this podcast episode, experts GianCarlo Canaparo and Mike Gonzalez provide a legal and historical interpretation of the term “equity.” This discussion, moderated by Linda Chavez, highlights how the definition of equity extends beyond civil rights protection and how the evolving definition of the term “equity” affects the legal realm. Related posts: The Mismatch Game Linda Chavez moderates panel on Critical Race Theory Here’s Linda Chavez on The O’Reilly Factor Unkingly Discrimination

Companies Are Getting Back To Business And Away From DEI

Devon WesthillRacial Preferences

This article originally appeared on Daily Caller Classic American companies like John Deere, Harley Davidson and Tractor Supply Co. are finally reevaluating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. They are realizing that their consumers, many from rural, midwestern and working-class communities, don’t care for the DEI practices of corporate elites. They just want good service, reliable tractors and badass motorcycles. The about-face is especially timely as the Supreme Court’s 2023 affirmative action decision prohibiting race-based college admissions has increased scrutiny of private sector DEI practices. This new legal climate, combined with the discovery of problematic DEI programs at major American …

The Real Story Behind the Demographic Swings in MIT Admissions

Devon WesthillEducation

This article first appeared on The Federalist Society The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) became the first highly selective college to release data on the racial composition of the class of 2028. Significantly, this is the first opportunity the public has had to examine the impact of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to prohibit race-based affirmative action in admissions at elite universities. The MIT report shows stark demographic changes for incoming first-year students from the previous year. While the percentage of white matriculants remained largely unchanged—a drop of just one percentage point from the class of 2027—the …

In Loving Memory of CEO Legend Althea Nagai

Center for Equal OpportunityRacial Preferences

It is with great sadness the Center for Equal Opportunity mourns the passing of Althea Nagai, longtime CEO Senior Research Fellow, who died today after a long illness. Althea was a member of the CEO family from its inception in 1995.  Her work exposing the breadth and depth of racial preferences in college admissions shaped public opinion and not only helped lay the groundwork for nine statewide ballot initiatives to ban the government’s use of race, but also the landmark Supreme Court cases against the University of North Carolina and Harvard banning preferences in college admissions. Althea was the author …

CEO Fellowship Begins

Center for Equal OpportunityRacial Preferences

This week, CEO is hosting its third-annual Civil Rights Fellowship for aspiring lawyers with a series of activities and training in caselaw, enforcement practices, and public policy. The 2024 fellowship class includes ten law students fromsome of the best schools in the country: Ave Maria, Campbell University, George Washington University, Michigan State, University of Colorado, University of Florida, and University of Miami. The first of its kind program, spearheaded by CEO President and General Counsel Devon Westhill, is taking place here in Washington, D.C. We kicked things off with a discussion on post-Civil War constitutional amendments and major civil rights legislation, …

Life After Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard | Old Parkland Conference

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation

Now that the Supreme Court has found racial preferences in college admissions to be unconstitutional, how will elite higher education respond? Will they abandon racial preferences or work harder to conceal them? Legal experts will discuss the implications of the Students for Fair Admissions decision for admissions offices and what’s to come in the battle over affirmative action. Speakers: Rick Banks, Devon Westhill, Renu Mukherjee, and Mene Ukueberuwa Highlights from the Event | OLD PARKLAND CONFERENCE 2024 Inspired by the 1980 Fairmont Conference and building on the success of the 2022 Old Parkland Conference, the 2024 Old Parkland Conference brought together leaders …

Affirmative Action One Year Later: A Conversation with Devon Westhill 

Center for Equal OpportunityRacial Preferences, Uncategorized

This article originally appeared on Philanthropy Round Table This month marks the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decisions in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and the Students Against Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina cases. These seminal decisions ended racial preferences in college admissions processes, also known as affirmative action, after the court ruled in 2023 that the schools were violating the civil rights of certain students based on race.   Philanthropy Roundtable Adjunct Senior Fellow Patrice Onwuka spoke with Devon Westhill, president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO), about the ripple effect …

NEW PAPER: Individual Dignity as the Foundation of an Inclusive Society

Devon WesthillRacial Preferences

Dear friends, I am elated to share with you a new paper written by two CEO contributors, Cory Liu and Anthony Pericolo. Cory was an instructor in our Second Annual Civil Rights Fellowship where he taught a session on affirmative action in the immediate aftermath of the Students for Fair Admissions decisions. Anthony is CEO’s first Visiting Legal Fellow and was also a law student fellow in CEO’s inaugural 2022 Civil Rights Fellowship. Both gentlemen continue to graciously donate their time to CEO while working fulltime in private law practice. The paper, which will be published in Volume 77 of …

ACR Project and CEO File Brief Challenging SEC Approval of Discriminatory NASDAQ Requirement

Center for Equal OpportunityEmployment

The ACR Project and the Center for Equal Opportunity together filed an amicus brief on behalf of Cory R. Liu with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, supporting a challenge to the SEC’s 2021 approval of NASDAQ’s alteration of its listing requirements.  Those requirements force listed companies to: (a) disclose how many directors they have; and (b) (i) produce stats showing a sufficiently “diverse” set of directors across various identitarian classifications to satisfy NASDAQ; or (ii) explain in writing why they don’t.*, ** Our full brief is below. Building on Mr. Liu’s work in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard/UNC, where …