LAY, Chief Judge.
Ms. Bonnie Valentine, a white college instructor, appeals from a judgment in an employment discrimination suit brought by her against officials of Arkansas State University. Valentine’s complaint alleges that she is entitled to relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1981; 42 U.S.C. § 2000d; and the Fourteenth Amendment. This appeal raises important questions about permissible affirmative action under federal employment discrimination statutes and the Fourteenth Amendment.1
I. Background.
Arkansas State University, like many other colleges and universities, excluded blacks for most of its history. ASU made [506]*506little progress toward desegregation until forced by the federal government. In 1968, HEW’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) began compliance reviews under title VI of states that retained vestiges of a dual system of higher education, which reviews included the ASU campus. In January 1969, OCR wrote Governor Winthrop Rockefeller that the reviews of Arkansas’ colleges and universities indicated that the state violated title VI. The state developed a compliance plan. Another campus review at ASU in November 1970, raised further questions about discrimination against minorities. In August 1972, the ASU Board of Trustees made it the policy of the university to exert every reasonable effort to employ minority persons in professional positions. In February 1973, the Adams v. Richardson2 decision ordered HEW to bring Arkansas into compliance with title VI. In May 1973, OCR notified Governor Dale Bumpers that the 1969 statewide plan was inadequate. The state wrote a new plan but it failed to win OCR approval in 1973. In February 1974, ASU endorsed a revised statewide plan developed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. After further revisions, OCR approved the plan in July 1974, and promised to monitor its implementation. In August 1975, OCR documented “extensive failure to implement the Statewide Plan . . . [and that] violations of Title VI . . . continue to exist.” After OCR threatened enforcement actions, the Governor, college and university officials, and OCR representatives met to discuss compliance efforts. In October 1975, ASU submitted its affirmative action program.3 Compliance reviews by and ASU reports to OCR continue4 at least through 1976.
During these efforts to desegregate ASU, Bonnie Valentine sought employment there in 1976. Valentine had previously taught business education at ASU from 1967 until [507]*507she resigned in 1974. In 1976, Valentine’s replacement, Adena Williams, the only black person on the business education faculty, resigned, and Valentine applied for her former position. The position required the applicant to have a masters degree in business education. Valentine had a masters degree, 30 additional hours of credit, and seven years of teaching experience at Arkansas State University.
A faculty search committee, the division chairperson, and the dean of the College of Business Administration rated the applicants. Several of these individuals knew Valentine from when she first taught at ASU, and they recommended her as the most qualified of the sixteen applicants for the job. Dr. Robert Ferralasco, Chairperson of the Division of Business Education and Office Administration, gave a list of names, headed by that of Bonnie Valentine, to Dr. F. Clark Elkins, Vice-President for Instruction, for his consideration. Ferralasco and Elkins met with Marilyn Myers, the affirmative action officer for ASU, to discuss the list. After the meeting, Ferralasco submitted a new list of recommended applicants. Valentine’s name was deleted from this list which contained only the names of two black applicants and no whites. ASU hired one of these two black applicants, Georgia Mitchell.
Valentine’s burden was to persuade the court that ASU intentionally discriminated against her because of her race.4 At trial, ASU asserted as a defense that it rejected Valentine because she was overqualified for the position and to hire her would create salary problems because of her previous experience and qualifications. The trial court noted this testimony, but did not seem to rule on this basis. The court dismissed the complaint with prejudice on the basis of ASU’s implementation of its affirmative action plan. We agree with the appellant that the record demonstrates that the decision to hire Georgia Mitchell, a black, and reject Valentine, was substantially motivated by a race-conscious choice by ASU to implement its affirmative action plan.
Valentine testified that both Dr. Ferralasco and Dr. Elkins told her ASU rejected her because she is white. Dr. Ferralasco testified that the top recommendation of the screening committee, division chairman, and Dean Lonnie Talbert was usually selected. Dr. Ferralasco stated that Dr. Elkins said ASU was under a court order to hire a black applicant, if a black met the minimum qualifications, but that ASU would hire Valentine if Myers determined that the affirmative action plan would permit it. Dr. Ferralasco substituted the names of two black candidates for the original list, which contained only the names of white applicants. Dr. Elkins admitted discussing affirmative action concerns at hiring discussions. Dr. Elkins apparently believed HEW viewed the school as having too few minorities and he feared HEW’s reaction if the university replaced a black faculty member, Adena Williams, with a white applicant. Dr. Elkins’ concern apparently arose from the university’s small number of minority faculty in 1976 and previous “old boy school” hiring practices.
The state contends that it rejected Valentine because she was overqualified and not because she is white. Dr. Elkins testified that to hire someone with Valentine’s qualifications at the annual salary of $10,500, the university would be buying a lawsuit. The fact that Dr. Ferralasco named none of the whites on his first list to his second list undermines the state’s argument. We conclude that Valentine has demonstrated that the motivating factor in rejecting her was based upon the fact that she was white and the university was making a race-conscious choice in deference to its affirmative action plan.
II. Fourteenth Amendment.
The constitutional guarantee of equal protection does not prohibit states from taking appropriate measures to reme[508]*508dy the effects of past discrimination.5 The Supreme Court has not yet defined guidelines for permissible affirmative action for employing state university faculty. Because the justification for race-conscious affirmative action is remedying the effects of past discrimination, a predicate for the remedy is that qualified persons make findings of past discrimination before the plan is implemented. Absent findings of past discrimination, courts cannot ascertain that the purpose of the affirmative action program is legitimate. Such findings enable courts to ensure that new forms of invidious discrimination are not approved in the guise of remedial affirmative action.
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LAY, Chief Judge.
Ms. Bonnie Valentine, a white college instructor, appeals from a judgment in an employment discrimination suit brought by her against officials of Arkansas State University. Valentine’s complaint alleges that she is entitled to relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1981; 42 U.S.C. § 2000d; and the Fourteenth Amendment. This appeal raises important questions about permissible affirmative action under federal employment discrimination statutes and the Fourteenth Amendment.1
I. Background.
Arkansas State University, like many other colleges and universities, excluded blacks for most of its history. ASU made [506]*506little progress toward desegregation until forced by the federal government. In 1968, HEW’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) began compliance reviews under title VI of states that retained vestiges of a dual system of higher education, which reviews included the ASU campus. In January 1969, OCR wrote Governor Winthrop Rockefeller that the reviews of Arkansas’ colleges and universities indicated that the state violated title VI. The state developed a compliance plan. Another campus review at ASU in November 1970, raised further questions about discrimination against minorities. In August 1972, the ASU Board of Trustees made it the policy of the university to exert every reasonable effort to employ minority persons in professional positions. In February 1973, the Adams v. Richardson2 decision ordered HEW to bring Arkansas into compliance with title VI. In May 1973, OCR notified Governor Dale Bumpers that the 1969 statewide plan was inadequate. The state wrote a new plan but it failed to win OCR approval in 1973. In February 1974, ASU endorsed a revised statewide plan developed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. After further revisions, OCR approved the plan in July 1974, and promised to monitor its implementation. In August 1975, OCR documented “extensive failure to implement the Statewide Plan . . . [and that] violations of Title VI . . . continue to exist.” After OCR threatened enforcement actions, the Governor, college and university officials, and OCR representatives met to discuss compliance efforts. In October 1975, ASU submitted its affirmative action program.3 Compliance reviews by and ASU reports to OCR continue4 at least through 1976.
During these efforts to desegregate ASU, Bonnie Valentine sought employment there in 1976. Valentine had previously taught business education at ASU from 1967 until [507]*507she resigned in 1974. In 1976, Valentine’s replacement, Adena Williams, the only black person on the business education faculty, resigned, and Valentine applied for her former position. The position required the applicant to have a masters degree in business education. Valentine had a masters degree, 30 additional hours of credit, and seven years of teaching experience at Arkansas State University.
A faculty search committee, the division chairperson, and the dean of the College of Business Administration rated the applicants. Several of these individuals knew Valentine from when she first taught at ASU, and they recommended her as the most qualified of the sixteen applicants for the job. Dr. Robert Ferralasco, Chairperson of the Division of Business Education and Office Administration, gave a list of names, headed by that of Bonnie Valentine, to Dr. F. Clark Elkins, Vice-President for Instruction, for his consideration. Ferralasco and Elkins met with Marilyn Myers, the affirmative action officer for ASU, to discuss the list. After the meeting, Ferralasco submitted a new list of recommended applicants. Valentine’s name was deleted from this list which contained only the names of two black applicants and no whites. ASU hired one of these two black applicants, Georgia Mitchell.
Valentine’s burden was to persuade the court that ASU intentionally discriminated against her because of her race.4 At trial, ASU asserted as a defense that it rejected Valentine because she was overqualified for the position and to hire her would create salary problems because of her previous experience and qualifications. The trial court noted this testimony, but did not seem to rule on this basis. The court dismissed the complaint with prejudice on the basis of ASU’s implementation of its affirmative action plan. We agree with the appellant that the record demonstrates that the decision to hire Georgia Mitchell, a black, and reject Valentine, was substantially motivated by a race-conscious choice by ASU to implement its affirmative action plan.
Valentine testified that both Dr. Ferralasco and Dr. Elkins told her ASU rejected her because she is white. Dr. Ferralasco testified that the top recommendation of the screening committee, division chairman, and Dean Lonnie Talbert was usually selected. Dr. Ferralasco stated that Dr. Elkins said ASU was under a court order to hire a black applicant, if a black met the minimum qualifications, but that ASU would hire Valentine if Myers determined that the affirmative action plan would permit it. Dr. Ferralasco substituted the names of two black candidates for the original list, which contained only the names of white applicants. Dr. Elkins admitted discussing affirmative action concerns at hiring discussions. Dr. Elkins apparently believed HEW viewed the school as having too few minorities and he feared HEW’s reaction if the university replaced a black faculty member, Adena Williams, with a white applicant. Dr. Elkins’ concern apparently arose from the university’s small number of minority faculty in 1976 and previous “old boy school” hiring practices.
The state contends that it rejected Valentine because she was overqualified and not because she is white. Dr. Elkins testified that to hire someone with Valentine’s qualifications at the annual salary of $10,500, the university would be buying a lawsuit. The fact that Dr. Ferralasco named none of the whites on his first list to his second list undermines the state’s argument. We conclude that Valentine has demonstrated that the motivating factor in rejecting her was based upon the fact that she was white and the university was making a race-conscious choice in deference to its affirmative action plan.
II. Fourteenth Amendment.
The constitutional guarantee of equal protection does not prohibit states from taking appropriate measures to reme[508]*508dy the effects of past discrimination.5 The Supreme Court has not yet defined guidelines for permissible affirmative action for employing state university faculty. Because the justification for race-conscious affirmative action is remedying the effects of past discrimination, a predicate for the remedy is that qualified persons make findings of past discrimination before the plan is implemented. Absent findings of past discrimination, courts cannot ascertain that the purpose of the affirmative action program is legitimate. Such findings enable courts to ensure that new forms of invidious discrimination are not approved in the guise of remedial affirmative action. Likewise, a court can determine that the remedy substantially relates to its purpose only if it is certain that the persons shaping and implementing the plan understood the nature and extent of the past discriminatory practices. See Setser v. Novack Investment Co., 638 F.2d 1137 (8th Cir. 1981).
The Supreme Court has determined that the Congress,6 federal courts,7 and, in some instances, the states 8 have the competency to make such findings of past discrimination as are sufficient to justify a race-conscious remedy.9 The record reflects that HEW and the District Court for the Dis[509]*509trict of Columbia found that Arkansas’ colleges and universities did not comply with title VI. Because of these findings and the action taken by OCR, ASU developed its affirmative action program. HEW and the district court are competent to make findings of past discrimination sufficient to justify the remedial purpose of an affirmative action program.10
There is no consensus on what findings of past discrimination justify remedial affirmative action.11 Nevertheless, the issue of whether the findings of past discrimination made by the District of Columbia District Court and HEW were adequate to justify a race-conscious remedy is not even close. Findings of previous statutory violations of title VI by a district court and OCR justify the use of some type of race-conscious remedy by a state to serve its constitutionally permissible objective of remedying past discrimination.
We now turn to the question of whether, as a means to accomplish the pláinly constitutional objective of remedying past discrimination, the State of Arkansas can prefer a black applicant over a white for a particular faculty vacancy. Arkansas could not practically achieve its constitutionally permissible ends in the foreseeable future without the use of race-conscious remedies. We examine the means used by Arkansas without any bright line distinction between permissible and impermissible affirmative action plans.12 Any racial preference must receive a searching examination to make certain that it does not conflict with constitutional guarantees. 448 U.S. at 491,100 S.Ct. at 2781. Until we know more about the long term effects of affirmative action, however, we are reluctant to discourage states from acting voluntarily to remedy past racial discrimination.13 A flexible evaluation of the means adopted by Arkansas is all the more appropriate in this case because, on the one hand, the state faced termination of federal benefits and liability for past discrimination against blacks, if it failed to institute an affirma[510]*510tive action plan, and, on the other hand, it faced liability to whites for any voluntary preferences adopted to mitigate the effects of prior discrimination against blacks. See generally United Steelworkers v. Weber, 443 U.S. 193, 210, 99 S.Ct. 2721, 2731, 61 L.Ed.2d 480 (1979) (Blackmun, J., concurring); Setser, 638 F.2d at 1143-1144; Hunter v. St. Louis-San Francisco Ry., 639 F.2d 424, 425 n.2 (8th Cir. 1981). The test for determining whether Arkansas has adopted constitutionally permissible means is whether the affirmative action plan is “substantially related” to the objective of remedying prior discrimination.14 A race-conscious affirmative action program is substantially related to remedying past discrimination if (1) its implementation results or is designed to result in the hiring of a sufficient number of minority applicants so that the racial balance of the employer’s work force approximates roughly, but does not unreasonably exceed, the balance that would have been achieved absent the past discrimination; (2) the plan endures only so long as is reasonably necessary to achieve its legitimate goals; (3) the plan does not result in hiring unqualified applicants; and (4) the plan does not completely bar whites from all vacancies or otherwise unnecessarily or invidiously trammel their interests.
III. ASU’s Affirmative Action Plan.
ASU’s affirmative action plan set a goal15 of raising the percentage of blacks on the faculty to a total of five per cent by 1979.16 To reach this goal, ASU planned that 25 per cent of the faculty hired between 1976 and 1979 would be black. These goals do not exceed reasonable efforts to remedy ASU’s past discrimination. In 1976, when Valentine was not hired for the [511]*511position, ASU had 10 black faculty members among a total faculty of 296 (3.4% of faculty was black). Upon Adena Williams’ retirement, the Business College had no black faculty members. If Valentine had been rehired, the Business College would have continued to have no black faculty members at least until the next vacancy occurred. ASU attracts students from an area which has a population which is approximately 23.6% black. We find that the plaintiff has failed to show that ASU’s goals exceed those which would be substantially related to ASU’s legitimate purpose.
ASU’s 25% hiring goal is neither permanent nor even long lasting. Instead, ASU’s plan extends over a four-year period and contemplates the achievement of a modest increase in black faculty members. Nothing about the duration of the plan suggests any purpose other than a remedial one and Valentine has not shown that the period of the plan exceeds the time substantially necessary for achieving the plan’s remedial purpose.
An affirmative action plan may be constitutionally infirm if it unduly stigmatizes either the beneficiaries or the persons disadvantaged by the plan. Bakke, 438 U.S. at 374-75, 98 S.Ct. at 2791-2792. But a plan designed to eliminate past racial discrimination is not invalid merely because some innocent persons bear the brunt of the racial preference. Fullilove, 448 U.S. at 484, 100 S.Ct. at 2777—2778. So long as a plan does not result in the hiring of unqualified persons, we conclude that any stigma caused by the plan is constitutionally acceptable. Members of the majority group are rarely, if ever, stigmatized by operation of a racial preference; it is hard for us to believe that people will treat Bonnie Valentine as a second class person because a black person was hired instead of her. The more serious risk of stigma is with the successful minority applicant. The absence-^not the presence — of affirmative action stigmatizes minority groups, by perpetuating the disadvantages of minorities. When an institution remedies its past wrongs by providing opportunities for members of previously victimized groups it does not stigmatize those groups. Where the applicant is qualified, the risk of stigma is considerably less because presumably the person can perform the task adequately. . The evidence in this case shows not only that Georgia Mitchell was fully qualified for the job but also she performed very well as a teacher. We cannot invalidate ASU’s affirmative action plan, or its application to the facts here, on the supposition that someone might be stigmatized.
ASU’s affirmative action plan does not require firing any employees to make room for minority applicants. Nor does the plan deprive innocent persons of employment rights or benefits they already enjoyed. The plan contemplates that only 25% of new faculty over a four-year period will be black; we cannot say that this plan completely bars whites from faculty positions.
In summary, because we find ASU’s affirmative action goals substantially related to the legitimate goal of ending and remedying previous racial discrimination, because the plan does not require the hiring of unqualified persons, because it is temporary, and because it does not completely bar whites or otherwise invidiously trammel their interests, we conclude that ASU’s plan, on its face, is a constitutionally permissible solution to a difficult problem. United States v. City of Miami, 614 F.2d at 1338-40; Detroit Police Officers’ Ass’n v. Young, 608 F.2d at 696.17
IV. Title VI.
Valentine seeks relief under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, § 601, 42 [512]*512U. S.C. § 2000d.18 Section 2000d-3 limits employment discrimination claims under title VI to situations where the federal assistance is designed to provide employment.19 Valentine has not shown that ASU received federal assistance to provide faculty employment. We dismiss the title VI claim and express no opinion on the issues of (1) whether title VI provides a private right of action,20 (2) whether a plaintiff may recover compensatory damages under title VI,21 or (3) whether the Eleventh Amendment bars a money judgment against these defendants.22
V. Section 1981.
Valentine’s claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 is dismissed on the basis of this court’s recent en banc opinion in Setser v. Novack Investment Co., 657 F.2d 962 (8th Cir. 1981). An affirmative action plan of a governmental employer that passes constitutional muster does not violate section 1981. Local 35, IBEW v. City of Hartford, 625 F.2d 416, 425 (2d Cir, 1980); Detroit Police Officers’ Ass’n v. Young, 608 F.2d 671, 692 (6th Cir. 1979).
Judgment affirmed.