ALPINE — Last Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it will cut $350 million in grant programs benefitting minority students at universities around the country, the latest attack in the Trump administration’s war on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The cuts will have a significant impact on Sul Ross State University, which stands to lose millions of dollars in grants.
“Discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in a statement. “To further our commitment to ending discrimination in all forms across federally supported programs, the Department will no longer award Minority-Serving Institution grants that discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.”
The cuts include the elimination of grant programs aimed at “developing Hispanic-serving institutions” and “promoting postbaccalaureate opportunities for Hispanic Americans,” both of which provide significant funding to Sul Ross State University campuses in Alpine and Eagle Pass. Sul Ross is considered a “Hispanic-serving institution,” or HSI — a school whose student body is made up of 25% or more Latino students. (An HSI designation is a reflection of the enrolled student population, not necessarily admissions policies that favor students of color.)
Eliya Alvidrez, editor of the Sul Ross Skyline, broke the story locally on Monday night, reporting that the cuts would be a major blow to the university. “It is unclear whether Sul Ross maintained a high percentage of Hispanic students as a result of quotas or as a result of its location along the border between Texas and Mexico,” she explained. “The funding cut will also impact grants to support institutions with a high population of black, and Indigenous students.”
Alvidrez’s reporting cites an email from University President Carlos Hernandez that made the rounds on campus Monday afternoon. Hernandez’s letter further explains the reasoning for making the cuts — the Trump administration believes that funding targeted toward minority students violates the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, per a memo issued in July from Solicitor General D. John Sauer.
Sul Ross receives support from the Department of Education through Title V, though these cuts do not apply to all Title V programs. “We are carefully reviewing this situation in consultation with our partners within the Texas State University System, exploring all possible avenues including appeals, extensions, and other alternatives to help mitigate the impact of the decision,” Hernandez wrote. “At this time, no final determinations have been made.”
Over the past few years, Sul Ross has made a major push to drum up financial support and fight declining enrollment. It partnered with Ellucian Grant Services in 2018 and has since received more than $33.6 million from the Department of Education’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions Division.
Betse Esparza, director of university communications, confirmed the cuts to The Big Bend Sentinel and put the total loss at $10.6 million. That figure includes $7.5 million for the university’s Water in the Desert program, which launched in 2024 and created 11 new faculty positions.
These are relatively large figures at a small university like Sul Ross, whose annual budget hovers around $23 million for the Alpine campus.
While the Trump administration has worked to dismantle programs serving minorities on the basis that they’re unfair to white people, organizations that advocate for HSIs say that these cuts harm all students, regardless of race. “This is not just a budget cut, it is an attack on equity in higher education,” David Mendez, interim CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, wrote in a statement. “The funds granted to HSIs have never supported only Latino students. These funds strengthen entire campuses, creating opportunities and resources that benefit all students, especially those pursuing STEM fields, as well as enhancing the communities where these colleges and universities are located.”