*The University of Iowa attempted to redirect a privately funded scholarship away from Black chemistry students. The Iowa Supreme Court blocked the move, according to the ACLU.
At the center of the case sits a 1997 scholarship created by Dr. Ezra Totton, a chemistry professor whose work focused on breaking barriers in higher education. Decades earlier, Totton took part in 1930s litigation that challenged the exclusion of Black students from graduate programs at the University of Tennessee. He later built the scholarship to continue that mission.
After the U.S. Supreme Court issued its affirmative action ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard College, the University of Iowa cited the decision to seek court approval to redirect Totton’s gift toward first-generation students. The district court rejected the request. The Iowa Supreme Court later upheld that ruling.
Source: Iowa Supreme Court Protects Private Scholarship for Black Students
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