Univ. Alabama rejects a donation of $ 21.5 million; A donor calls for a boycott of the abortion law: NPR

The University of Alabama's board of directors decided to return a $ 21.5 million gift from Hugh Culverhouse, Jr. – the largest donor of the school – and take his name from his law school. This decision comes after a dispute in which Culverhouse had demanded that Alabama be boycotted by its new law on abortion including the university.

The school says the $ 21.5 million transfer was processed Friday morning.

"The measures taken by the Commission today are a direct result of Mr. Culverhouse's constant attempts to interfere in the activities of the law school", said Friday the Vice-Chancellor of the Communication of the university, Kellee Reinhart. "That's the only reason the council voted to remove his name and return his money."

Culverhouse, a lawyer and investor in Florida whose father was the long-time owner of Buccane de Tama Bay, made the biggest donation of the year at his 187th birthday, with $ 26.5 million.

But months after the announcement of this donation, Culverhouse partnered with those who were calling for a boycott of Alabama about its new restrictive abortion law, which bans most abortions at any stage of pregnancy and does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

"I can not remain silent and allow my name to be associated with a public education system that teaches students legislation that flagrantly contradicts the US Constitution and federal law and promotes blatant discrimination," Culverhouse said. the end of May, in a statement. provided to the media in Alabama.

Florida Politics said last month that Culverhouse 's attorney, Lawrence Kellogg, had said, "Sixty – six percent of Alabama students pay tuition outside of the state. A boycott on their part could certainly be effective. "

Although the university has acknowledged an "ongoing conflict" with Culverhouse, she insists that the decision regarding her donation is solely related to concerns about problems at school, not at home of the state.

"University officials say the school had nothing to do with the law on abortion and that there was an ongoing dispute with Culverhouse over the past year." 39, use of his gift, "reports Debbie Elliott, of NPR. "Culverhouse said that he thought the problem had been solved and that he felt that the vote of the directors was a retaliatory measure for his position on the ban on abortion."

The university said Culverhouse had previously claimed the $ 10 million refund and that it was also asking how the money was spent. Last week, Alabama's Chancellor Finis St. John recommended that the board of directors pay Culverhouse's $ 21.5 million donation to the Faculty of Law.

On Friday, while St. John was again addressing the board of directors while he was preparing to vote on the issue, he reiterated this position, stating that Culverhouse's expectations as to how his gift would be used would be "inconsistent with the core values ​​of academic integrity and independent administration." "from the university and its law faculty.

When Culverhouse pledged to make this unprecedented gift last fall, the University of Alabama decided to rename its law faculty after Culverhouse. Only hours after the board of directors had acted on Friday, university workers began the process of dismantling Culverhouse's name for signage outside of its law school.

Culverhouse went to Florida University – but he was born in Alabama and his two parents went to the University of Alabama and were involved in athletics there. Her previous donations to the school included more than $ 2 million to support women's golf scholarships in honor of her mother, who was golfing for Crimson Tide.

But in the current conflict, Culverhouse also mentioned the social and political legacy of his family.

"My father was a Planned Parenthood officer in Jacksonville, Florida, in the 1950s," Culverhouse said in May, according to Florida Politics. Referring to the law on abortion, he added: "This is an issue of civil rights that has been important to my family for many years."