Photo: Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is continuing her support of HBCUs.
On Monday (November 3), Spelman College announced that it had received a "transformative" $38 million donation from Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, per 11 Alive News.
The unrestricted gift is set to support two key priorities, including expanding financial aid and scholarship opportunities to help students complete their education regardless of financial background and investing in state-of-the-art technology infrastructure to improve academics, efficiency, and digital readiness.
“We are profoundly grateful to MacKenzie Scott for this incredibly generous and unrestricted $38 million gift to Spelman College,” Interim President Rosalind ‘Roz’ Brewer said in a statement. “The flexibility of this gift allows us to move more swiftly to strengthen the entire student experience, modernize our technology infrastructure, and expand financial opportunity for scholars who call Spelman home.”
Scott has made substantial donations to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in recent years, including schools within the Atlanta University Center. This marks her second major gift to Spelman, following a $20 million contribution in 2020.
College officials said the new investment reinforces Spelman’s mission of promoting educational excellence and equity, calling it an investment “in both our present and our future as we continue to advance our legacy of producing change-making global leaders.”
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