Columbia University is seeking to change the terms of the Lydia C. Roberts Graduate Fellowship that was originated in 1920, Newsday reported on Wednesday.
The 90 plus year fellowship has stipulated that money be given only to "a person of the Caucasian race."
Roberts left most of her $509,000 estate to the university when she died in 1920, creating the fellowship - with restrictions. Not only did Roberts stipulate that the fellowship would be for "whites only," but the candidates must be from the state of Iowa, must not study law or several other fields. They also must return to Iowa for two years after graduating, news reports said.
University officials have since filed court papers last week seeking to change the race provisions. The New York Daily News has reported that the university has not awarded the fellowship since 1997.
Roberts was heir to her late husband's medical patent company.
The university said in a statement on Wednesday that it does follow gift conditions that violate anti-discrimination laws, the AP reported.
None of the rules governing the fund, worth more than 800,000 today, can be charged. The school's provost at the time, Grayson L. Kirk, defended the racial provision when the NAACP protested it in 1949.
At the time, Kirk said, "We do not feel we are justified in depriving some of our students of the benefits of restricted grants simply because they are not available to everyone."
Columbia University is one of the eight members of the prestigious Ivy League.
