AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University is investigating a racist email that was sent to nearly 5,000 of it's employees.
Iowa State Police say the message, that claimed to come from Equity Prime Mortgage, contained racist language, references to violent white supremacy, lynching, and a racist slur.
ISU says its Information Technology staffers were able to remove 70 percent of the messages before they were opened, and the sender was blocked.
Police say other higher education institutions across the country, including Harvard University and Stanford University, were targeted by the email.
Iowa State University Police are working with the FBI to determine who is responsible for the cyber-attack.