(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday will end $12.3 million in financial aid that has a race/ethnicity component for some University of Missouri students.
The amount is 6.4% of the university’s total budget for financial aid, according to university spokesman Christian Basi.
Michael Williams, chairman of the Board of Curators, who is Black, and Mun Choi, president of the University of Missouri, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Korea when he was 9, emphasized the university would follow the law during a previously scheduled press conference on its meetings. Choi said financial aid awarded for this year and previous years for race-based assistance would be honored.
Hours earlier, Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced he sent a letter to dozens of universities and municipalities warning them to “immediately end race-based affirmative action policies to ensure compliance with the Constitution and federal law.”
“There is thus no justification for Missouri institutions to ‘grandfather’ in existing programs that disfavor applicants based on race,” Bailey wrote.
An email seeking clarification on whether the university honoring race-based financial assistance commitments this year would violate the law was sent to Bailey’s office, but wasn’t immediately returned.
A few hours after the press conference, the university distributed a media release stating the financial aid was “lawfully issued under previous Supreme Court and U.S. Department of Education interpretations.”
Choi pledged to continue providing opportunities for a wide range of students.
“We have been providing significant scholarships, when it was allowed by the Supreme Court, for diversity scholarships,” Choi said. “That was our commitment as an institution. But now that it is no longer allowed, we will use the scholarships for others and other approaches.”
Williams, a labor and employment law attorney with an undergraduate and law degree from the university, said the Supreme Court decision will be met with creative solutions.
“Every challenge is an opportunity,” said Williams, appointed to the Board by Republican Gov. Mike Parson in 2019 and appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court to the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in 2015. “It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with the opinion. How do I accept this and move forward?”
As Choi’s statements focused on internal changes to be made in admissions and financial aid, Williams attempted to reassure future or prospective students they would have access to the university in the future.
“We will figure out a way to make sure that we’re helping kids with financial needs,” Williams said, earlier admitting the public often questions whether scholarship money truly goes to deserving students. “I would tell parents, don’t look at this as something bad; look at it as an opportunity for you to explore other scholarships, financial aid and give us a chance to show why the University of Missouri system is for you.”
The ruling won’t affect some universities.
“Because Missouri State University does not use race as a factor in making admission decisions, the decision will not affect how we operate,” Andrea Mostyn, a spokesperson for the university, wrote in an email to The Center Square.
Williams challenged fellow Board members, alumni and all Missourians to look beyond the ruling and become university ambassadors and donors.
“This isn’t something that should deflate you,” Williams said. “It’s just something that, whether you agree or disagree, how do you move forward? How do we do better? How do we get to be where we want to be?”
