Australia’s largest medical research foundation has been criticised for prioritising “equality” over “merits” after cutting the University of Melbourne from future grants because the school awarded its honorary doctorates to six white men. The Snow Medical Research Foundation, which has donated over $90 million to medical research in the last two years and donated $16 million to Melbourne University in 2021, suspended the university from future applications of Snow’s prestigious fellowship program on March 7. The funding freeze was announced a week after Melbourne University published a photo of six Caucasian men receiving the school’s honorary doctorates in the ceremony and a press release outlining their achievements. Snow Medical chair Tom Snow, who is also chair of LGBT+ group Equality Australia, accused the university of having sent “a message to every woman and person of diversity that white men will be rewarded ahead of you.” “This award is not just …