Financial Aid

PROVIDENCE, R.I--Brown University's equal employment opportunity officer concluded in a report about financial aid that "pre-judgment based upon biases totally unrelated to the granting of awards may perpetually affect large numbers of racial minorities."

The report, which was submitted to Brown President Howard Swearer three months ago but which was not released until March 6, states that although white students sometimes receive aid grants exceeding their need, there are no cases of this happening for Black students.

James Tisdale, the equal employment opportunity officer, said that scholarships are not consciously given out on a racial basis but that there are inconsistencies "where the question of racial sensitivity could occur."

Alan Howard, a Brown junior, had asked Tisdale to determine whether financial aid officers had incorrectly computed his award because of racial bias. The university, in releasing the report, deleted all references to Howard's case because of privacy considerations.