Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has given Atlanta’s Spelman College a $38-million gift, the latest in a series of donations to support the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities.
Spelman officials say the unrestricted gift will help the university address two of its strategic priorities: Expanding financial aid to ensure student access and affordability, and improving its technology infrastructure.
“This investment is a powerful affirmation of our mission and our commitment to educational excellence and equity,” Spelman 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. It is an investment in both our present and our future as we continue to advance our legacy of producing change-making global leaders.”
This is the second gift from Scott, a novelist who received the bulk of her fortune after divorcing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. In 2020, she gave the women’s college $20 million to support its student scholarships and endowment.
In 2019, Scott signed the Giving Pledge, promising to donate more than half her wealth. HBCUs have been among her favorite grantees. In September, she donated $70 million to the UNCF, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships to minority students.\
Over the weekend, Howard University officials announced that it had received an $80 million unrestricted gift from Scott, bringing the total she had donated to the Washington, D.C. university to $132 million.
On Monday, Clark Atlanta University announced what they called a “momentous” $38 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
The university will use the “substantial, unrestricted gift” to “significantly enhance” its ability to develop its academic programs and expand resources for students, “ensuring that financial barriers do not impede educational attainment,” the university said in a statement.
The contribution builds on a previous $15 million donation from Scott, bringing her total support to an “unprecedented $53 million,” which is the largest private donation in the university’s history, Clark Atlanta said.
“The magnitude of Ms. Scott’s generosity significantly enhances our capacity to expand the student success initiatives and support infrastructure already underway, preparing students to thrive on the global stage for generations to come,” Clark Atlanta President George French Jr. said in a statement. “Her continued support underscores her commitment to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and her trust in our mission to foster academic excellence and innovation.”
Clark Atlanta announced the donation the same day that fellow Atlanta HBCU Spelman College also announced a $38 million gift from Scott, calling the donation “transformative” and “unrestricted.”
Like with Clark Atlanta, it was Scott’s second recent gift to the university. She previously gave around $20 million to Spelman in 2020, which the university said “helped to support student scholarships and increase its endowment to provide a lasting source of funding for scholarships and academic programs.”
