The Iowa Supreme Court ruled this month that the University of Iowa can’t repurpose a private scholarship designated for Black students to serve first-generation students—but it might not be able to use the funding for its original purpose, either, shedding light on the murky legal waters facing race-based scholarships nationwide.
The University of Iowa argued giving the funds to Black students majoring in chemistry, as the donor intended, became a legal liability after the U.S. Supreme Court nixed considering race in college admissions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The Trump administration has since interpreted that ruling to bar any race-based program or policy.
Against that backdrop, Iowa isn’t alone in rethinking scholarships with race-based criteria. Colleges, businesses and nonprofits across the country have been scrambling to cut or replace such programs, for fear of legal action or federal scrutiny.
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