Legacy and donor preferences in the higher education admissions process are significant benefits offered to applicants who are related to alumni and wealthy donors. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding affirmative action in higher education, Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), a nonprofit organization in Boston, sought to eliminate donor and legacy preferences at Harvard in order to break down barriers to higher education that stand in the way people in under-represented groups at these institutions. LCR’s federal civil rights complaint to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sparked an ongoing investigation into these practices at Harvard. However, with nearly 600 U.S. colleges and universities considering legacy as a part of their admissions process, the impact on equity in higher education is considerably more widespread — it is not limited to Harvard and other elite schools. This program will provide a background on the Supreme Court decision, how it dovetails with legacy and donor admissions, the impact of donor and legacy admissions on the legal profession, and will offer tips and tools for using Title VI complaints to affect change through the legal process.
