IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Supreme Court has blocked for now an attempt by the University of Iowa to alter a race-based scholarships but says the practice of awarding scholarships based on race likely needs to change.
Dr. Ezra Totton created the scholarship, leaving money in his will when he died in 1997, to specifically support Black University of Iowa Students studying physical sciences.
The University and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird argued it needs to alter that scholarship in response to the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Harvard that said colleges cannot use race as a factor in admissions. Instead, it moved to change the scholarship to award first-generation college students, regardless of race…