Center for Equal Opportunity

The Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) is a small conservative think tank vigorously opposed to affirmative action and bilingual education. CEO favors immigration but is concerned with illegal immigration and poor assimilation policies.

Founded by commentator and former Reagan Administration Civil Rights Director Linda Chavez in 1995, the Center's small staff of five employees includes two of Chavez's adult children. Initially and primarily funded with a founding grant from the Olin Foundation, the Center exists largely on grants from the Bradley Foundation, and the Sarah Scaife Foundation.

The Center's most noteworthy accomplishment is the publication of a series of guidebooks promoting English Immersion including the Parents' Guide to Bilingual Education. CEO has published numerous studies examining the use of racial preferences in education, hiring, and contracting. With ties to the current administration, CEO has filed complaints with agencies challenging preferences given on the basis of race.

Note: The Center for Equal Opportunity is sometimes referred to as the Equal Opportunity Foundation.

CEO Report on UW-Madison Race-Conscious Admissions
In September 2011, the CEO released a report alleging that the University of Wisconsin-Madison engaged in "severe racial discrimination" in its admissions policies. The report created an odds ratio for admissions on the basis of differences in test scores and class ranks between admitted whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics. For African-Americans the ratio was 576-to-1, and for Hispanics it was 504-to-1. The report incited large protests from students. Roger Clegg, president and General counsel of the CEO, held a public debate at the University about the conclusions of the report with University of Wisconsin Law School professor Larry Church.

Funders
According to Media Matters, CEO has received funding from the following organizations:
 * Castle Rock Foundation
 * Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation
 * Earhart Foundation
 * F.M. Kirby Foundation
 * Hickory Foundation
 * JM Foundation
 * Jacquelin Hume Foundation
 * John M. Olin Foundation
 * Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
 * Philip M. Mckenna Foundation
 * Randolph Foundation
 * Sarah Scaife Foundation
 * Scaife Family Foundation
 * Smith Richardson Foundation

Staff

 * Linda Chavez, President
 * Roger Clegg, legal counsel
 * Edward Blum, variously described as "policy analyst" and "adjunct scholar"
 * David Gersten, Executive Director
 * Rudy Gersten, office manager

Board of Directors

 * Linda Chavez, President
 * Abigail Thernstrom
 * John Miller, former vice president of the Center and now a reporter for National Review