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MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist who donated over $160 million to historically Black colleges and universities such as Hampton University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Tuskegee University, Xavier University of Louisiana as well as the Thurgood Marshall College Fund has continued to make donations to HBCUs and charitable organizations.
On Tuesday (December 15), Scott announced she had donated $50 million to Prairie View A&M University, the largest donation ever made to the school.
PVAMU can use the money for whatever it chooses. School leaders have announced they will allocate $10 million to juniors and seniors who dealt with financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The remainder of the $40 million is set to go towards other university initiatives such as faculty development and recruiting, academic improvements and scholarships.
“This is a historic gift for Prairie View, coming at a time when the University had already decided and begun to invest heavily in key areas to strengthen its academic programs and improve student success,” President Ruth Simmons said in a statement. “The timing of this gift could therefore not be better.”
The donation from Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and the world’s richest woman, helps raises Prairie View’s endowment to $130 million, a near 40 percent increase and makes PV the owner of one of the largest endowments for an HBCU ever.
Scott has donated more than $4.1 billion in gifts to 384 different organizations including donations to Alcorn State University, Bowie State University, Clark Atlanta University, Delaware State University,
Dillard University, YMCA of Greater Houston, Goodwill Houston and Easterseals of Greater Houston.
Other HBCUs such as Winson Salem University was granted $30 million, North Carolina A&T University was donated $45 million and more.
You can see the full list of Scott’s donations here.
Prairie View A&M University Receives $50M Donation From MacKenzie Scott was originally published on myhoustonmajic.com
