Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) is a membership organization comprised of more than 20,000 students, parents, and individuals who believe that race and ethnicity should not be factored into the college admissions process. ¹

As of 2022, Students for Fair Admissions has filed lawsuits challenging admissions practices at Harvard University, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Texas. ²

Activities

Students for Fair Admissions claims that racial preferences in the college admissions process are unfair, unnecessary, and unconstitutional. SFFA participates in litigation intending to restore what it claims to be the original principles of the Civil Rights Movement, specifically that a student’s race or ethnicity should neither help nor harm a student’s chances of being admitted to a competitive university. ³

In its 2014 filing against Harvard, Students for Fair Admissions alleged that Harvard violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by engaging in intentional discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity. SFFA further claimed that the “Harvard Plan,” which Harvard advocated for in the 1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case, misled the U.S. Supreme Court into believing that race would not be a predominant factor in admissions, each applicant would be treated as an individual, and the scrutiny of applicants would be race neutral, except as a last resort. ⁴

In its 2014 filing against the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, Students for Fair Admissions alleged that UNC violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. SFFA claimed that UNC’s admissions policies intentionally and unconstitutionally discriminated against applicants on the basis of race and ethnicity. ⁵ Students for Fair Admissions filed a similar complaint against the University of Texas at Austin in 2020. ⁶

On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear suits filed by Students for Fair Admissions alleging that Harvard and the University of North Carolina have race-based admissions policies that are discriminatory against Asian-American students. SFFA claims that Harvard’s policies make it more likely for a black student in the fourth-lowest decile to be admitted than an Asian American in the top decile. ⁷

Funding

Students for Fair Admissions is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While Students for Fair Admissions does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from Donors Trust ($1.5 million in 2018), ⁸ the Searle Freedom Trust ($500,000 in 2019), ⁹ and the Sarah Scaife Foundation ($250,000 in 2019). ¹⁰

Board of Directors

Edward Blum is the president of Students for Fair Admissions and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ¹¹

Other board members include Richard Fisher, treasurer; Abigail Fisher, secretary; Alex Chen; Joe Zhou; and Hua Eva Guo. ¹²

1. “About.” Students for Fair Admissions. Accessed April 18, 2022. https://studentsforfairadmissions.org/about/.
2. “Our Cases.” Students for Fair Admissions. Accessed April 18, 2022. https://studentsforfairadmissions.org/our-cases/.
3.  “About.” Students for Fair Admissions. Accessed April 18, 2022. https://studentsforfairadmissions.org/about/.
4. “SFFA v. Harvard Complaint.” Students for Fair Admissions, November 17, 2014. Accessed April 18, 2022. http://samv91khoyt2i553a2t1s05i-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/SFFA-v.-Harvard-Complaint.pdf
5. “UNC Complaint.” Students for Fair Admissions, November 17, 2014. Accessed April 18, 2022. http://samv91khoyt2i553a2t1s05i-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/SFFA-v.-UNC-Complaint.pdf.
6. “SFFA UT Fed Complaint Filed July 2020.” Students for Fair Admissions, July 20, 2020. Accessed April 18, 2022.  http://samv91khoyt2i553a2t1s05i-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SFFA-UT-Fed-Complaint-Filed-July-2020.pdf.
7. “Race, Harvard and the Supreme Court.” The Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2022. Accessed April 18, 2022. https://www.wsj.com/articles/race-harvard-and-the-supreme-court-students-for-fair-admissions-colleges-quotas-11643063228?st=vcqw6z9rhqj7p3d.
8. Donors Trust, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Schedule I, Part II.
9. Searle Freedom Trust, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019, Part XV, Line 3a.
10.  Sarah Scaife Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019, Part XV, Line 3a.
11. “Edward Blum.” LinkedIn, 2022. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-blum-26468698/.
12. Students for Fair Admissions Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Part VII Section A.