Duke Ends Full-Ride Scholarship for Students of African Descent

Duke University discontinued a full-ride scholarship for students of African descent and replaced it with a program with no scholarship that is open to all students. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-conscious college admissions practices last year.

The Chronicle, Duke’s independent student newspaper, reported last week that the university is discontinuing the Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship Program (Reggie Scholarship) and transitioning it into the Reginaldo Howard Leadership Program.

The Chronicle reported that the university told the current scholarship recipients, known as Reggie Scholars, that the scholarship was ending in light of changes to the legal landscape related to race-based considerations in higher education. However, Duke will continue to support current Reggie Scholars through graduation.

The discontinued Reggie Scholarship program, established in 1979 and named after the first African American president of the Associated Students of Duke University, was for the top applicants of African descent to Duke University. The merit scholarship required no application, test scores, or other strict eligibility requirements.

Selected students traditionally were committed to community service, leadership, and social justice. Some recipients were required to demonstrate financial need.

Finalists — usually a group of around 15-20 — would attend Duke classes and cultural activities and meet other prospective first-year students and enrolled Reggie Scholars. Recipients chosen to receive the scholarship had their full tuition and room and board covered.

The leadership program that will take its place is open to all Duke undergraduates, regardless of race, according to The Chronicle. And it will not include a competitive selection process.

The Reginaldo Howard Leadership Program will honor Reggie Howard’s legacy by supporting Black academic excellence, intellectual community, and leadership on campus through an intentionally designed series of engagement opportunities, Candis Watts Smith, vice provost for undergraduate education, told Reggie Scholars and alumni in an email acquired by The Chronicle.

The new leadership program partners with the Office of University Scholars and Fellows and the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture.

Previous financial support for the Reggie Scholarship program will now support the new program and need-based financial aid. Duke will soon have more details on the program.

Duke recently leaned further into need-based financial aid by making tuition free for North and South Carolina students from families making $150,000 or less per year. The university is going even further for students from families making $65,000 or less per year by offering assistance for housing, meals, course materials, and other campus expenses.

Other universities nationwide are cutting their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-focused scholarships after the Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious practices in college admissions.

Ohio colleges like Ohio University are pausing and reviewing their scholarships with race-based language since Ohio Attorney General David Yost considers them disguised race-conscious admissions policies.

Race-conscious scholarships aren’t the only programs on the chopping block.

Texas has been wrestling with what compliance to its new anti-DEI law SB 17 looks like for offices that support colleges’ diverse communities.

The University of Texas at Dallas is closing the Office of Campus Resources and Support (OCRS), which had replaced the school’s DEI office to comply with SB 17. As of January 2024, Texas public colleges and universities can’t sponsor race-based scholarships, host DEI offices, or use race-based hiring preferences and enrollment training.

OCRS was responsible for professional development opportunities, support services, scholarships, cultural celebrations, and high school outreach programs.

A week earlier, the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) reportedly laid off approximately 60 former DEI employees who were no longer working DEI jobs and closed the Division of Campus and Community Engagement, another office established after the university closed its DEI office to comply with SB 17.

UT Austin also cut the Monarch Program, dedicated to supporting undocumented students, without explanation.

The Monarch Program provided advising, mentoring, mental health support, financial workshops, and a scholarship to undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students and students with temporary status in the U.S.

Its scholarship was not race-based, instead considering a student’s legal status, and immigrants are not a single racial or ethnic group, according to a previous statement by UT Austin student group Rooted.