“DACA and Undocumented” Scholarship and Others at U. Louisville Challenged By Equal Protection Project

“DACA and Undocumented” Scholarship and Others at U. Louisville Challenged By Equal Protection Project

The Equal Protection Project (EqualProtect.org) recently reached a milestone — our 100th school, college, or university challenged over DEI discrimination, covering over 400 discriminatory programs and scholarships. So far 2025 has been our busiest and most productive year since launch in February 2023 – we are expanding legal staff and moving both vertically and horizontally in the legal challenges we bring. (Deliberately cryptic in that desription!)

Civil Rights Complaint

We bring this civil rights complaint against the University of Louisville (“UofL”), a public university, for discrimination in six (6) scholarships based on race, color, and/or national origin, in violation of Title VI and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Among other things, the scholarships include “DACA and undocumented” and “of color” restrictions.

Most scholarships at UofL do not require a separate application. “The majority of scholarships at the University of Louisville are awarded automatically through the admission process.” [image omitted]

The scholarships listed below are currently offered to UofL students and applicants for admission, according to the UofL website, and violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) and its implementing regulations2 by illegally excluding students based on their race, color or national origin. Because UofL is a public university, these discriminatory scholarships also violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Each of the scholarships listed below are currently available to students, according to the UofL website3 (discriminatory requirement in bold):
SCHOLARSHIPS THAT VIOLATE TITLE VI (6)

1. A&S McSweeny Fellowships
Link: https://louisville.edu/artsandsciences/research/research-resources/funding-opportunities/internal-funding/graduate-undergraduate
Archived Link: http://archive.today/880P0
Discriminatory Requirement: “A&S McSweeny Fellowships supplement graduate education support and promote racial and ethnic diversity of the student population in the STEM areas. Programs may nominate students from historically underrepresented ethnic/racial groups, including US citizens and permanent residents who are African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Pacific Islanders.”

2. Dawn Wilson Scholarship for LGBTQ+ Students of Color
Link: https://louisville.edu/lgbt/awards-and-scholarships/scholarships-1/scholarships
Archived Link: http://archive.today/tAr68
Discriminatory Requirement: “…the Dawn Wilson Scholarship will be awarded to subsidize the cost of higher education at the University of Louisville for undergraduate LGBTQ+ students of color.

3. Watson Family Endowed Scholarship Fund
Link: https://louisville.edu/financialaid/types-aid/scholarships
Archived Link: https://archive.is/wip/8yOQD
Discriminatory Requirement: “The Donor’s prioritized preferences are first- or second-generation college student of African-American heritage; First-generation college students from single-parent families; students from immigrant or refugee families; first-generation college students from rural areas of Kentucky.”

4. Al Dia Endowed Scholarship
Link:
https://louisville.edu/culturalcenter/scholarships#:~:text=Established%20by%20Jose%20Neil%20Donis,identify%20as%20Hispanic%20or%20Latino.
Archived Link: https://archive.is/4owlI
Discriminatory Requirement: “…preference given to students who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.”

5. Louisville Tango Festival Scholarship
Link:
https://louisville.edu/culturalcenter/scholarships#:~:text=Established%20by%20Jose%20Neil%20Donis,identify%20as%20Hispanic%20or%20Latino.
Archived Link: https://archive.is/4owlI
Discriminatory Requirement: “The Louisville Tango Festival Scholarship is available to full-time and part-time Latino/a/x and Hispanic students pursuing a degree in any major at the University of Louisville.”

6. Sagar Patagundi Scholarship
Link:
https://louisville.edu/culturalcenter/scholarships#:~:text=Established%20by%20Jose%20Neil%20Donis,identify%20as%20Hispanic%20or%20Latino.
Archived Link: https://archive.is/4owlI
Discriminatory Requirement: “…the Sagar Patagundi Scholarship will be awarded to subsidize the cost of higher education at the University of Louisville for undergraduate DACA and undocumented students.” 4

4 Because DACA only applies to persons born outside the United States who meet certain additional criteria, restricting scholarship eligibility to DACA recipients constitutes discrimination based on national origin and violates Title VI. See https://www.uscis.gov/DACA [https://archive.is/PfwjL] (accessed June 9, 2025). Similarly, “undocumented” status only applies to students born outside the United States. This scholarship discriminates against American-born students.

WHAS11 TV covered the story:

The University of Louisville is facing a federal civil rights complaint for alleged discrimination based on race and ethnicity.

The nonprofit, the Equal Protection Project (EPP) of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, filed the complaint Wednesday.

The EPP said the school was discriminatory in six scholarships based on race and ethnicity, and in violation of Title VI and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The six scholarships they mentioned are:

• A&S McSweeny Fellowships
• Dawn Wilson Scholarship for LGBTQ+ Students of Color
• Watson Family Endowed Scholarship Fund
• Al Dia Endowed Scholarship
• Louisville Tango Festival Scholarship
• Sagar Patagundi Scholarship

The group has called for a federal investigation into the university’s alleged discriminatory practices.

WAVE News also covered the story and interviewed me:

The College Fix also wrote an article about the complaint:

The University of Louisville may once again find itself the target of a federal investigation for violating the civil rights of Americans.

The Equal Protection Project recently filed a federal complaint against the school, alleging it violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race.

Specifically, the complaint by the Legal Insurrection Foundation project identifies six scholarships it says violates the law….

Legal scholar and civil rights activist William Jacobson provided further comments to The College Fix via a media statement.

“That racially discriminatory scholarships exist at a major public university is disheartening,” Jacobson said. “It is time for higher education everywhere to focus on the inherent worth and dignity of every student rather than categorizing students based on identity groups.”

Jacobson, the founder of the Equal Protection Project, said the school “should know better than to run scholarships that treat students differently based on race, color, or national origin.”

“The Equal Protection Project calls on the senior administration of UofL to make sure nondiscrimination standards are upheld throughout the institution,” Jacobson, a Cornell University law school professor, also said.

He said “there is a culture on many campuses that excuses some forms of racial and ethnic discrimination, and that needs to stop.”

Reminder: we are a small organization going up against powerful and wealthy government and private institutions devoted to DEI discrimination. Donations are greatly needed and appreciated.

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