A case involving a Black graduate’s estate, scholarship money and the University of Iowa has been reinstated after a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling.
The unanimous ruling on Friday, June 5, was in response to the UI’s push to modify the terms of a trust established by the late Ezra Totton, a Black chemist who earned a master’s in chemistry from the university during the Jim Crow era.
The terms require that scholarships be for “Black students majoring in the physical sciences, preferably chemistry,” according to court documents. The university wants to award the scholarship to “first-generation students” because the school believes the terms are impractical, if not illegal, to continue awarding the scholarship based on race.
The U.S. Supreme Court found that discriminating on the basis of race in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Other courts have found that the June 2023 Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. vs. President & Fellows of Harvard College decision by the U.S. Supreme Court also applies to discrimination based on race in awarding scholarships. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed, finding that administering the agreement under the current trust would be “impractical.”
The Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling reversed a Johnson County court order dismissing the case without prejudice and remanded it to the district court with instructions on how to proceed.
The Johnson County court must allow an advocate to appear in court to protect Totton’s original intent, and if the trust’s main purpose cannot be fulfilled, i.e., scholarship money for Black students, the money must be returned or directed to another entity.
Who was Ezra Totton?
Totton was one of six Black students who sued for admission to the University of Tennessee’s graduate and professional programs in 1939 because he was denied admission.
The case was dismissed by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Totton earned a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Iowa and later a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He became chair of the chemistry department at North Caroline Central University, a historically Black college or university, in 1949 and remained for 26 years, retiring in 1976. North Carolina Central University eventually named the chemistry building after Totton.
He died in 1997 and left the University of Iowa $35,000 for a scholarship designated for “black students majoring in the physical sciences, preferably chemistry.” Totton also left similar amounts to two Historically Black Colleges and Universities that he attended for students studying chemistry, and a gift to the University of Wisconsin for “Black students majoring in biochemistry.”
“(Totton’s) desire to help African American students pursue their dreams in chemistry was rooted in both his personal experience and his belief in the transformative power of education,” said NAACP Iowa-Nebraska Area Conference of Branches president Betty Andrews in a news conference on Friday. “He personally experienced discrimination against Black people in education and in every other area of public life, and worked heroically to tear down those barriers—not just for himself, but for everyone who came after.”
ACLU of Iowa argues courts should honor Totton’s wishes
The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and the NAACP argued in an amicus brief with the Iowa Supreme Court that it did not respect Totton’s wishes to give the scholarship to first-generation students.
“I do not believe that administering these scholarships to instead go to first-generation students would be consistent with my uncle’s intent,” said Arthur Totten, Ezra Totton’s nephew, in a news release. “His goal, informed by his own life experiences of challenging and overcoming barriers for Black people to advance in higher education and of Black individuals supporting each other in this endeavor, was to continue to help black students do the same.”
The ACLU of Iowa, in partnership with the NAACP, argued that the court should determine how the trust should be modified to best honor Totton’s wishes.
The court seemed to agree with the ACLU’s sentiment in its opinion on Friday and ordered that someone represent Totton’s interests during the proceedings.
According to the ACLU, black students make up only three percent of all students at the University of Iowa, where first-generation students make up 19 percent of students.
Supreme court says UI can modify scholarship restrictions or return money
In January 2025, the University of Iowa tried to alter Totton’s trust requirements under a 2008 Iowa law called the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act. The law allows universities to seek court approval to modify scholarship trusts if it becomes “unlawful, impractical, or impossible” to execute as originally intended.
The University of Iowa argued that the U.S. Supreme Court decision made it “impractical, if not unlawful,” to continue awarding the scholarship under the current race-based restrictions. The court agreed; however, they did not agree that giving it to first-generation students matched the intent of the original donation and thus was not a proper modification under Iowa law.
The court ordered that the Johnson County court find a modification that follows Totton’s intent “to the maximum extent allowed by law.” The court said that the school can either modify the restriction to a different class of students, transfer the funds to another institution, return the funds to the trust, or nix the restriction.
Liam Halawith covers Johnson County local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. Reach him by email at lhalawith@registermedia.com. Follow him on X at @liam_halawith.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Supreme Court rules UI can’t repurpose Black student scholarship
Reporting by Liam Halawith, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Liam Halawith, Iowa City Press-Citizen | USA TODAY Network
