Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
Ticker circle logo

The Ticker

Breaking news from all corners of academe.

Asian-American Groups Seek Federal Investigation of Alleged Bias at Harvard

By Peter Schmidt May 15, 2015

More than 60 Asian-American groups have accused Harvard University of discriminating against applicants for their ethnic backgrounds in

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

More than 60 Asian-American groups have accused Harvard University of discriminating against applicants for their ethnic backgrounds in complaints filed with the Justice Department and the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.

The federal complaints, the latest in a long line of legal attacks against Harvard for alleged anti-Asian bias, accuse the university of violating federal civil-rights laws by systematically discriminating against Asian-American applicants. The complaints allege that Harvard’s admissions process gives excessive consideration to applicants’ race, uses racial stereotypes and double standards, and seeks to racially balance enrollments to the point of maintaining de facto quotas.

“Asian-American applicants are the most discriminated group by Ivy League universities, more so than any other race,” the groups said on Friday at a news conference in Washington, D.C., held to announce their filing of the complaints. The list of national and local organizations behind the complaints includes the Asian American Legal Foundation, the Houston Chinese Alliance, the National Federation of Indian American Associations, and the Pakistan Policy Institute.

ADVERTISEMENT

The requests for federal investigations occurred as a separate advocacy group, Students for Fair Admissions, is challenging the race-conscious admissions policies of both Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in lawsuits filed in federal court. Both lawsuits cite Asian-Americans as purported victims of illegal discrimination as a result of the institutions’ consideration of race.

Harvard responded to Friday’s announcement with a statement in which Robert Iuliano, its general counsel, said the university “has demonstrated a strong record of recruiting and admitting Asian-American students.”

“We will vigorously defend the right of Harvard, and other universities, to continue to seek the educational benefits that come from a class that is diverse on multiple dimensions,” Mr. Iuliano said.

In anticipation of Friday’s news conference, a separate set of Asian-American and Pacific Islander groups that support race-conscious admissions policies released a statement defending them. It characterized the attacks on such policies as attempts to use “wedge politics” to stir up opposition to policies that encourage diversity and its associated educational benefits. “Affirmative-action policies help to level the playing field and promote diverse university learning environments that are essential in our multiracial and multicultural society,” the statement said.

Asian-American groups have similarly been divided in other disputes over race-conscious admissions. They submitted friend-of-the-court briefs both supporting and opposing the race-conscious undergraduate admissions policy of the University of Texas at Austin when the U.S. Supreme Court considered that policy’s constitutionality, in 2012. Asian-American groups have bitterly opposed proposed changes in the University of California’s admissions policies that they perceive as putting Asian-American applicants at a disadvantage to try to bolster the enrollments of other minority populations.

ADVERTISEMENT

A 2008 study found that state bans on race-conscious admissions at public colleges had led to surges in Asian-Americans’ prospects of being admitted to such institutions. The study’s authors, three former officials at public universities in states where such bans had gone into effect, concluded that race-conscious admission policies resulted in discrimination against Asian-Americans. Supporters of affirmative action, however, have argued that what previously had been at work were other forces, such as discrimination against Asian-Americans in favor of white applicants.

The Education Department’s civil-rights office previously examined Harvard for alleged bias against Asian-Americans in the late 1980s. That investigation concluded that Harvard admitted Asian-Americans at a lower rate than white applicants with similar qualifications, but did not attribute the finding to illegal discrimination. Instead, it said, Asian-American applicants to Harvard appeared hurt by their underrepresentation in two pools of applicants to which the university legally gave preferential treatment: recruited athletes and the children of alumni.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
About the Author
Peter Schmidt
Peter Schmidt was a senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education. He covered affirmative action, academic labor, and issues related to academic freedom. He is a co-author of The Merit Myth: How Our Colleges Favor the Rich and Divide America (The New Press, 2020).
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Pro-Palestinian student protesters demonstrate outside Barnard College in New York on February 27, 2025, the morning after pro-Palestinian student protesters stormed a Barnard College building to protest the expulsion last month of two students who interrupted a university class on Israel. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Campus Activism
A College Vows to Stop Engaging With Some Student Activists to Settle a Lawsuit Brought by Jewish Students
LeeNIHGhosting-0709
Stuck in limbo
The Scientists Who Got Ghosted by the NIH
Protesters attend a demonstration in support of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, March 10, 2025, in New York.
First-Amendment Rights
Noncitizen Professors Testify About Chilling Effect of Others’ Detentions
Photo-based illustration of a rock preciously suspended by a rope over three beakers.
Broken Promise
U.S. Policy Made America’s Research Engine the Envy of the World. One President Could End That.

From The Review

Vector illustration of a suited man with a pair of scissors for a tie and an American flag button on his lapel.
The Review | Opinion
A Damaging Endowment Tax Crosses the Finish Line
By Phillip Levine
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan keeps his emotions in check during a news conference, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 in Charlottesville. Va. Authorities say three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia and a student is in custody. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Review | Opinion
Jim Ryan’s Resignation Is a Warning
By Robert Zaretsky
Photo-based illustration depicting a close-up image of a mouth of a young woman with the letter A over the lips and grades in the background
The Review | Opinion
When Students Want You to Change Their Grades
By James K. Beggan

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin