The recent transition of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality from Seattle University School of Law to the University of California, Irvine has sparked controversy around the allocation of donor funds. The Korematsu Center, named after Fred T. Korematsu, a Japanese-American who challenged his WWII internment in the Supreme Court, has been central to Seattle University’s mission of combating discrimination and advocating for social justice.
Seattle University School of Law contends that it is currently developing a new center for civil rights, aiming to continue the advocacy work initially led by the Korematsu Center. According to the school, the donor funds were intended to support this kind of advocacy work and not specifically tied to the Korematsu Center name.
However, Professor Robert Chang, founder and executive director of the Korematsu Center, countered this claim in a LinkedIn post, arguing that the school had over a year to consult donors about their preferences. The donors allegedly expressed that they wished their contributions to follow the Korematsu Center to its new home at UC Irvine. This situation raises questions about the ethical obligation of institutions to honor the specific intentions of their donors.
For more on this developing story, refer to the original article on Above the Law.