OH University halts race-based scholarships in wake of US Supreme Court ruling

• Ohio University has paused the awarding of race-based diversity scholarships in response to the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action.
• The Ohio Attorney General’s Office instructed colleges to stop considering race in admissions decisions immediately after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
• The university clarified that scholarships already granted to current students will not be affected by this pause.

Ohio University has paused the awarding of race-based diversity scholarships following the Supreme Court’s decision last summer to strike down affirmative action in college admissions.

The university — one of Ohio’s largest, with about 20,000 undergraduates at its main campus in Athens — announced its plans in a statement issued last week.

“We are temporarily pausing the awarding of impacted scholarships, which represent a small but important subset of our annual awards, as we contemplate any necessary revisions,” the school said.

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Scholarships already awarded to current students are not affected by the review, and they will continue to get renewable scholarships if they meet the renewal criteria, according to the statement.

The Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, D.C. Ohio University has paused the awarding of race-based diversity scholarships following the Supreme Court’s decision last summer to strike down affirmative action in college admissions. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office notified colleges and universities the day after the Supreme Court’s decision that they must “immediately cease” considering race when making admissions decisions. The office also said it would not legally protect someone at a college or university who uses race as a factor.

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Scholarship donors identify what kind of student they want their money to go to, and Ohio University officials said that if “revisions to any gift agreements are necessary,” they would work closely with donors on implementing any changes.