University system is amending some scholarships
The University of Missouri’s decision to end scholarships that discriminate on the basis of race has left some donors feeling “betrayed.”
The university’s four campuses have been working with donors to revise scholarships that exclude white students, and in some cases Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans, to ensure they comply with federal law.
“Several of the donors in question spoke with Inside Higher Ed, some on the record, some on background for fear of jeopardizing ongoing discussions with the university,” the news outlet reported. “They said the conversations have been fraught, coercive and disappointing.”
“Several said they felt ‘betrayed’ by their erstwhile institutional partners, though many conceded that the university system was in a difficult political and legal position,” Inside Higher Ed reported.
The decision to revise scholarships came after the affirmative action decision last summer. However, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also generally forbids discrimination in higher education.
Melinda Holmes is one of the upset donors profiled. She set up a scholarship that can only go to black students.
Holmes said she received a form letter about changing the scholarship, set up to honor her father, “the first Black professor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.”
“She was devastated and distressed, but more than anything, she was ‘pissed off,’ she said,” according to Inside Higher Ed.
“It’s hard to find ways to help people. This was an exciting way to do that, and to honor my father, who faced a lot of discrimination as a Black doctor in Missouri and could tell you how hard it is to go it alone,” she said, commenting on the scholarship that discriminates against white students.
Missouri State University Professor Mary Willis was left “shocked and surprised,” that the University of Missouri at Kansas City scholarship she and her sister set up would have to be revised.
The “Frank Neal Willis Jr. Minority Scholarship,” set up to honor her father, prohibited white students from applying.
Mizzou campuses are not the only ones who have been asked to stop discriminating on the basis of race. Ohio public universities have been asked to pause discriminatory scholarships by Attorney General Dave Yost in the wake of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
Attorney General Yost also said his office might not be able to defend public university employees who defied the ban on affirmative action, as previously reported by The College Fix.
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