A family that has funded scholarships for African American students at the University of North Carolina Wilmington for nearly 30 years is moving its endowment to Howard University after refusing to change scholarship language to comply with new state policy.
The scholarship honors the late Dr. Leroy W. Upperman, a prominent Wilmington physician. The endowment, valued at roughly $1 million, distributes about $40,000 each year and has supported generations of students.
UNCW told the family that scholarship language referencing African American students would need to be revised to comply with the UNC System’s equality policy, adopted in 2024. University officials said some agreements asked applicants to demonstrate a commitment to specific communities, which they argued could conflict with restrictions on compelled speech under the policy…