Robert Chang's Lateral Move From Seattle To UC-Irvine Sparks Dispute Over Funding Of Korematsu Center For Law & Equality

In November, UC-Irvine announced:

The renowned Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality and its executive director Robert S. Chang, professor of law, will be joining the University of California, Irvine School of Law, starting July 1, 2024.
Chang founded the center — named for pioneering civil rights hero Fred T. Korematsu — in 2009 at the Seattle University School of Law with the mission to use legal research, litigation advocacy and clinical education to achieve durable social change related to racial equity and social justice. The center’s slate of projects and initiatives challenge discrimination, help communities advocate for themselves and provide law students with real-world experiences to help them become agents for social change.
“My responsibility as Fred Korematsu’s daughter is to protect, preserve and promote my father’s legacy,” said Dr. Karen Korematsu, founder and president of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute. “Therefore, it is essential to ensure an academic law center that bears my father’s name is housed at an institution that will fully honor and advance his civil rights legacy. I am excited and encouraged that UCI Law, with its commitment to public service and racial justice, will be the new home for the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality.” 

As July 1 approaches, there is a dispute over the future of the Korematsu Center.

The Korematsu Institute posted this on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X on June 20:

Professor Robert Chang has amplified these comments on social media:

June 20:

I, too, am deeply disappointed.
As part the stewardship obligation I have as the Korematsu Center's executive director, and as part its move to a new institution, I have worked to honor the wishes of donors.
Other than a desire to keep the funds, leadership Seattle University and Seattle University School of Law have not articulated a legal basis for why the funds cannot be transferred. There has been general talk about a process and involvement of certain stakeholders. But not that it cannot be done.
They can still do the right thing.
I hope they will.

June 24:

It has now been four days since The Fred T. Korematsu Institute posted about what leadership at Seattle University and Seattle University School of Law are trying to do with funds donated to support Fred Korematsu's legacy.
Still no outreach to Karen Korematsu from leadership.
Since then, Above the Law has picked this up.
I will note that the law school, because these were restricted gifts, cannot legally, and certainly should not, spend any of these funds after July 1, 2024, until this dispute is resolved.

Seattle University School of Law Statement released this statement on June 24:

Seattle University and Seattle University School of Law founded, fund, and operate many impactful centers, institutes, and other programs. The University and School of Law deeply appreciate the donors whose generous gifts have complemented SU’s and the School of Law's significant investment in centers and institutes – including the Korematsu Center for Law & Equality, which on July 1 will become known as the Seattle University Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice. We will have more to say after we conclude our ongoing dialogues with principal donors about their gift agreements and wishes, and the evolution of our Center’s work at the University. We are doing our due diligence and taking into account all of the factors involved in such matters.