Univ. of Alabama Rejects $21.5 Million Gift; Donor Urged Boycott Over Abortion Law



University of Alabama employees remove the name of Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. off its law school's sign in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday, after the board of trustees voted to return $21.5 million to longtime donor Hugh


The University of Alabama's Board of Trustees has decided to return a $21.5 million gift from Hugh Culverhouse, Jr. — the school's biggest donor — and take his name off of its law school. The move comes after a dispute in which Culverhouse urged that a boycott of Alabama over its new abortion law should include the university.

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

Culverhouse, a Florida lawyer and investor whose father was the longtime owner of the Tama Bay Buccaneers, made the largest donation in the school's 187-year history last September, in a gift that totaled $26.5 million.





But months after that donation was announced, Culverhouse joined those calling for a boycott of Alabama over its new and restrictive abortion law, which outlaws most abortions at any stage of a pregnancy, and does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

"I cannot stand by silently and allow my name to be associated with a state educational system that teaches students law that clearly conflicts with the United States Constitution and Federal law, and which promotes blatant discrimination," Culverhouse said in late May, in a statement provided to media outlets in Alabama.

While the university has acknowledged an "ongoing dispute" with Culverhouse, it insists that the decision about his donation is related only to concerns about matters at the school, not at the statehouse.

"University officials say the school had nothing to do with the abortion law, and that there was on ongoing dispute with Culverhouse over how his donation would be used," NPR's Debbie Elliott reports. "Culverhouse says he thought it had been resolved and believes the trustees vote is in retaliation for his position on the abortion ban."



The university says Culverhouse had previously requested the return of $10 million, and that he was also making demands about how the money was spent. Last week, Alabama Chancellor Finis St. John recommended to the board of trustees that it return Culverhouse's entire $21.5 million donation to the law school.

When Culverhouse committed to making the unprecedented gift last fall, the University of Alabama decided to rename its law school after Culverhouse. But within hours of Friday's action by the board of trustees, university workers began the process of dismantling Culverhouse's name from the signage outside its law school.

Culverhouse went to college in Florida — but he was born in Alabama, and both of his parents went to the University of Alabama and were involved in athletics there. His previous gifts to the school have included more than $2 million to support women's golf scholarships in honor of his mother, who played golf for the Crimson Tide.

But in the current dispute, Culverhouse also mentioned his family's social and political legacy.

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

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