Ohio State LGBTQ+ scholarship under review after affirmative action reversal

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- An Ohio State alum said that a scholarship he funds benefiting small-town LGBTQ+ students is one of many the university is reexamining after the U.S. Supreme Court deemed affirmative action unconstitutional.

Kevin Keller, Ohio State alum and CEO of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, said the endowed fund he established to support those LGBTQ+ students was flagged by the university after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost informed leadership that race-based scholarships are now unconstitutional under the Supreme Court's 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ruling. Watch a previous NBC4 report on the ruling in the video player above.

Given the attorney general's interpretation of the court's ruling, Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson confirmed "the university is not able to award scholarships based on protected class." This expands the university's review beyond race-based scholarships to awards tailored to other protected classes, like gender and sexual orientation.

"I feel frustrated that I could have a scholarship targeted at people from small towns in Ohio, but I can't have a scholarship expressing a preference for LGBTQ+ students from small towns in Ohio," Keller said. "That's kind of the irony -- no problem having a preference for somebody from Meigs County, but if that person identifies as part of a community, that's not acceptable."

Now, Keller is negotiating with Ohio State to amend his gift agreement, named the Kevin R. Keller Endowed Scholarship Distribution Fund. The scholarship has previously been "awarded to, but not limited to, students who identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community," and provided $4,000 each school year to four undergraduate students who hail from an Ohio community with a population of 30,000 or less.

Johnson said Ohio State appreciates Keller's generosity and support for students, and reaffirmed that the university is "updating scholarships to ensure compliance with the law." He noted that Ohio State distributes approximately $415 million annually in scholarships and aid.

"While this work is underway, we continue to award scholarships and are managing scholarships on a case-by-case basis in an effort to provide all possible financial support without taking protected class into consideration," Johnson said.

The Supreme Court's Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ruling in June 2023 struck down race-conscious school admission practices known as affirmative action, upending decades of precedent that allowed universities to craft diversity-oriented policies. The day after the ruling, Yost sent a letter to Ohio's universities warning of the "dangers" of ignoring the court's decision, including lawsuits and the potential loss of federal funding.

In a call with universities in late January 2024, Yost clarified that the court's ruling also applied to scholarship awards. Johnson confirmed at the time that Ohio State was one of several universities that would reevaluate scholarships that use race.

Keller said he was told last spring the ruling would impact his gift agreement, which he established with his husband Keith in 2015, the year the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage through Obergefell v. Hodges. Having been raised in rural Ohio, Keller said he wanted to support those small-town LGBTQ+ students who face financial and social barriers.

The Ohio State alum cited research from The Trevor Project that found LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide, and only 38% report that their home is LGBTQ+-affirming. Keller also pointed to several Ohio bills impacting the LGBTQ+ community that became law in 2024, among more than 570 proposed "anti-LGBTQ+" laws nationwide.

"If you identify as LGBTQ+ and you are from a small town, it can be pretty lonely and I felt that," said Keller. "It was important to us that we be able to do something to help those folks who come from small towns, some of whom have been kicked out of their home, have been disowned by their families, may have to leave school because they don't have the resources to finish."

While the couple works with the university "to find a way forward," Keller said he and Keith will continue to support those students who have already been awarded the scholarship.