SANTA CLARA, CA - One Bay Area Jesuit university is recieving scrutiny for a leadership program that appears exclusively available to black persons.
The program, entitled "Black Corporate Board Readiness," defines its mission as "preparing highly experienced, qualified, Black leaders for Board service," according to Legal Insurrection. The program is featured at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, a private school.
The seemingly discriminatory program drew the attention of legal skeptics- including Legal Insurrection's Equal Protection Project. The organization, which specializes in challenging racially discriminating college and university programs, has filed more than 40 legal actions and complaints since its foundation in 2023.
The program further outlines its discriminatory nature in a frequently asked questions section of its website. “The BCBR program is open to Black executives who have gained extensive senior leadership experience or an equivalent span of control, including as a CEO or general manager," it reads. "From among qualified Black executives nationwide who apply, up to 35 participants are selected per BCBR cohort.”
Equal Protection Project founder William Jacobson pointed to the illegal nature of the program's discriminatory approach.
“[BCBR] is limited to Black executives. You can only apply to it if you are Black. That violates the law. You cannot have a program that is open to only one race, or excludes races."
The Equal Protection Project has filed a civil rights complaint with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights regarding the program, accusing Santa Clara University of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. If the school is determined by the federal government to have violated the provision, it would stand to lose all federal funding, including in the form of federal student loans.
Jacobson expressed his wish that Santa Clara University would change the illegal and discriminatory nature of the program- pledging to continue his organization's legal scrutiny to the point of a lawsuit if it refused.
“The harm from racial educational barriers is that it racializes not just the specific program, but the entire campus."
"Sending a message to campus that access to opportunities is dependent on race is damaging to the fabric of society.”
“My hope would be that Santa Clara University would change this program and would open it up to everybody, but regardless of what they voluntarily do, we want the Department of Education to open a formal investigation, which is the next step in this process."
The program, entitled "Black Corporate Board Readiness," defines its mission as "preparing highly experienced, qualified, Black leaders for Board service," according to Legal Insurrection. The program is featured at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, a private school.
The seemingly discriminatory program drew the attention of legal skeptics- including Legal Insurrection's Equal Protection Project. The organization, which specializes in challenging racially discriminating college and university programs, has filed more than 40 legal actions and complaints since its foundation in 2023.
The program further outlines its discriminatory nature in a frequently asked questions section of its website. “The BCBR program is open to Black executives who have gained extensive senior leadership experience or an equivalent span of control, including as a CEO or general manager," it reads. "From among qualified Black executives nationwide who apply, up to 35 participants are selected per BCBR cohort.”
Equal Protection Project founder William Jacobson pointed to the illegal nature of the program's discriminatory approach.
“[BCBR] is limited to Black executives. You can only apply to it if you are Black. That violates the law. You cannot have a program that is open to only one race, or excludes races."
The Equal Protection Project has filed a civil rights complaint with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights regarding the program, accusing Santa Clara University of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. If the school is determined by the federal government to have violated the provision, it would stand to lose all federal funding, including in the form of federal student loans.
Jacobson expressed his wish that Santa Clara University would change the illegal and discriminatory nature of the program- pledging to continue his organization's legal scrutiny to the point of a lawsuit if it refused.
“The harm from racial educational barriers is that it racializes not just the specific program, but the entire campus."
"Sending a message to campus that access to opportunities is dependent on race is damaging to the fabric of society.”
“My hope would be that Santa Clara University would change this program and would open it up to everybody, but regardless of what they voluntarily do, we want the Department of Education to open a formal investigation, which is the next step in this process."
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Comments
2024-10-31T10:15-0500 | Comment by: Laurence
Another example of racism. Why should Blacks or any group be favored, just because of the color of their skin? So far as promotions are concerned, there should be no criteria except competence, not color. This policy is totally unfair to competent Whites and Asians, and is in direct violation of California law.