Bradley University’s Discriminatory “Hometown Scholars” Program Challenged By Equal Protection Project

Bradley University’s Discriminatory “Hometown Scholars” Program Challenged By Equal Protection Project

The Equal Protection Project (EqualProtect.org) is a project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation devoted to fighting unlawful discrimination in all forms. While most of our cases have involved race, color, and national origin discrimination, we will challenge all forms of unlawful discrimination, including sex discrimination.

Since its launch, EPP has challenged over 800 discriminatory programs and scholarships at more than 275 colleges and universities. This is done to ensure that every student has the opportunity to compete on equal terms.

Our most recent filing on May 6, 2026, was a Civil Rights Complaint against Bradley University (“Bradley”):

“We bring this civil rights complaint against Bradley University (“Bradley”), a private institution, regarding the Bradley University Hometown Scholars Program (“BUHSP” or “the program”) which racially discriminates in violation of Title VI.”

We then go on to explain what the BUHSP is and how it violates the Civil Rights Act:

The Office of Inclusive Excellence created the BUHSP, which it describes as “…a groundbreaking initiative exclusively designed for students who attend high school in Peoria or neighboring cities…”

Link: https://www.bradley.edu/academics/academic-offices/provost-office/excellence/
Archived Link: https://archive.is/wip/2yRxW]
Discriminatory Requirement: Eligible applicants are those from “underrepresented Communities” to include “Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and multiracial students, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community and first generation college students.”

“The BUHSP conditions eligibility on applicants “belong[ing] to an underrepresented population at Bradley University.” Directly above this eligibility criteria, as reflected on the screenshot below, Bradley’s Office of Inclusive Excellence—the office responsible for the program—states that it considers “underrepresented communities” to include “Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and multiracial students, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community and first-generation college students. In context, this language conveys that race is a factor in determining eligibility for the program and that applicants who do not fall within those categories are disfavored or excluded. Students who do not fit these racial or ethnic classifications necessarily would be deterred from even applying or attempting to join by such racial signaling.”

EPP then makes clear why this language is discriminatory:

“This language reflects that the program is for students from those racial and ethnic categories, such that students who do not fall within them—particularly non-minority students who are neither members of the LGBTQ+ community nor first-generation college students—are either excluded from eligibility or would be deterred from applying.”

As we always do, we then spend several pages explaining why the program violates not only federal and state law, but also the university’s own non-discrimination rules. We then request that a formal investigation be opened.

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.

Robert Fox is an attorney at the Equal Protection Project, and focuses, among things, on filing civil rights complaints against DEI discrimination.

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