A US judge has approved a $555 million (?395 million) settlement ending a 15-year legal battle accusing the state of Maryland of systematically undermining its four historically black universities.

The lawsuit, brought by a 1967 graduate of Morgan State University and encouraged by the institutions, alleged that the state over decades intentionally shifted important degree programmes from the black-majority campuses to white-majority counterparts.

The $555 million to be paid by the state will help the four historically black institutions build new academic programmes and improve existing ones. The money also will be used to expand student financial aid, online courses, and faculty and student recruitment.

US district judge Catherine Blake??in a case she handled in 2013 as a civil trial that sided with the plaintiffs. The state nevertheless continued to pursue legal options, with Maryland¡¯s governor, Larry Hogan, calling a $200 million settlement proposal his final offer as recently as last year.

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But Mr Hogan relented this year, signing legislation approved by the state legislature that set aside the settlement money.

¡°We are finally able to move forward to give every college student in Maryland the chance to succeed,¡± Adrienne Jones, the speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates ¨C and the first African-American and first woman to serve in that role ¨C said.

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Along with Morgan State, the affected institutions?are Coppin State University, Bowie State University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The lead plaintiff, David Burton, the president of Morgan State¡¯s class of 1967, was joined in his pursuit by other alumni and backed over time by a growing number of state lawmakers.

Among the case¡¯s findings was the fact that Maryland¡¯s predominantly white public universities have 122 academic programmes not duplicated elsewhere in the state, while the historically black institutions can count just 11.

The current president of Morgan State, David Wilson,?said that the problem dated back to the 1960s?when Maryland and other states responded to the growth of the Baby boomer generation by creating white-majority alternatives to their existing historically black institutions.

Plaintiffs have won similar cases in recent years in the states of Alabama and Mississippi.

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paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com