Northwestern Ends Posse Scholarship Program

Northwestern University is ending a long-running scholarship program for promising students from diverse backgrounds. 

On Monday, The Daily Northwestern reported and Inside Higher Ed independently confirmed that the university is shutting down its Posse Scholars program, which awards merit-based full-tuition scholarships to students from several major cities across the country. For the past decade, NU has worked with the Posse Foundation—whose mission is to “expand the pool from which top colleges and universities can recruit outstanding young leaders from diverse backgrounds”—to select 10 scholars a year from the greater Los Angeles area. That cohort, or “posse,” of students are paired with a faculty adviser and meet weekly to facilitate their adjustment to college life.

Current scholars won’t be affected by the program cancellation, but NU will enroll its final Posse cohort this coming fall.  

Some alumni, students and faculty expressed shock and disappointment over the news. But a university spokesperson told The Daily Northwestern that “by phasing out its Posse program, Northwestern will be able to reallocate those funds to further support its commitments to access, opportunity and belonging regardless of students’ hometown or financial means.”

Although the Posse Foundation doesn’t screen applicants based on race or financial need, 57 percent of Posse Scholars are first-generation college students and more than 60 percent of alumni are Black or Hispanic, according to the organization’s website. 

NU’s terminated partnership with the Posse Foundation comes amid the federal government’s broader crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in higher education. Last year, the Trump administration froze $790 million in federal funding for Northwestern. The government later unfroze the funds after the university agreed to pay $75 million and refrain from making admissions, scholarship, hiring or promotion decisions based on race, color or national origin, among other stipulations.