Supreme Court rules UI can't repurpose Black student scholarship
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on June 5 that the University of Iowa cannot repurpose a scholarship fund established by Ezra Totton, a Black chemist, to exclude Black students in favor of first-generation students, citing violations of the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The ruling reinstated the case, requiring the university to either honor Totton’s original intent or return the funds, as the trust’s terms specify aid for 'Black students majoring in the physical sciences, preferably chemistry.'
The Iowa Supreme Court reinstated a case on June 5, 2025, preventing the University of Iowa (UI) from altering the terms of a scholarship fund established by Ezra Totton, a Black chemist who earned a master’s in chemistry from the university during the Jim Crow era. Totton’s trust requires scholarships for 'Black students majoring in the physical sciences, preferably chemistry,' but the UI sought to redirect the funds to first-generation students, arguing the original terms were impractical or illegal under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The ruling follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in *Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard*, which barred racial discrimination in college admissions, a precedent the Iowa court applied to scholarships. The Iowa Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s dismissal, ordering the Johnson County District Court to allow an advocate to represent Totton’s original intent and either uphold the scholarship’s racial criteria or return the funds to another entity. Totton, who faced discrimination in higher education—including a dismissed lawsuit against the University of Tennessee in 1939—later earned a doctorate in biochemistry and became chair of North Carolina Central University’s chemistry department. He left $35,000 to the UI for Black chemistry students, alongside similar gifts to other historically Black colleges. The NAACP and ACLU of Iowa argued in court filings that repurposing the funds violated Totton’s explicit wishes to support Black students in science, echoing his lifelong fight against educational barriers. The case now returns to district court, where judges must determine whether the trust’s racial provisions can be enforced or if the funds must be redistributed. Legal experts note the ruling reflects broader tensions over race-conscious policies in education, particularly after recent Supreme Court decisions limiting affirmative action. Totton’s legacy, rooted in overcoming systemic discrimination, remains central to the dispute over how his scholarship should be administered.
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