Citing data from the National Scholarship Providers Association, the newspaper found that the percentage of scholarships with racial, ethnic, gender, or other demographic requirements has decreased four percentage points – from 15 percent in 2023 to 11 percent in 2026. Factors contributing to the trend include the threat of “lawsuits, legal complaints and pressure from the Trump administration,” the article states.
The scholarships previously designated for students from certain groups are not being eliminated but rather are being opened up to all students or modified to benefit first-generation students or students from low-income backgrounds, Jackie Bright, president of the National Scholarship Providers Association, told the newspaper.
The shrinkage in the number of scholarships created for students based on race or ethnicity is being celebrated as a victory for conservatives who have been pushing for an end to what they characterize as racial discrimination. But liberals lament that institutions are increasingly being hamstrung in their efforts to lend a helping hand to students from groups that have historically been shut out of higher education.
Simply modifying the eligibility requirements for scholarships has not always proven easy. Consider, for instance, a scholarship that the late Ezra Totton, a Black chemistry professor, bequeathed for Black students at the University of Iowa as a way to show gratitude to his alma mater for educating him in its graduate chemistry program during the Jim Crow era.
When the University of Iowa sought to modify the scholarship requirements out of concern that the scholarship could draw a legal challenge, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the university cannot redirect privately donated funds that the donor intended to benefit Black students studying science. The case was sent back to a lower court in June to work out whether and how the scholarship can be modified, Higher Ed Dive reports.
In a separate case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously struck down a taxpayer-funded, race-based scholarship program known as the Minority Undergraduate Retention Grant. Recipients of the scholarship used to get up to $2,500 per academic year. Wisconsin state Senator Dora Drake, a Democrat who benefited from the terminated minority scholarship program, told FOX6 News that she plans to introduce legislation to restore the scholarship but restructure it in a way to help students based on income or zip code as opposed to race.
