MacKenzie Scott has awarded a $63 million unrestricted donation to Morgan State University, the HBCU announced on Wednesday. It’s her second contribution to the university in less than five years, as Scott has previously donated $40 million in 2020.
MacKenzie Scott’s initial donation had been the largest individual donation in Morgan State’s history
The HBCU used the funds to seed its “Leading the World Endowment Fund” and inspired other philanthropic efforts. In 2020, Morgan State also received $20 million from Calvin and Tina Tyler, which was the largest donation ever made by an HBCU alum at the time.
The donation helped Morgan State spearhead initiatives such as the creation of its Center for Urban Health Equity and National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities. It also helped support the university’s Center for Religion and Cities and other research hubs, as well as endowed faculty chairs in Brain Science, Psychometrics and Predictive Analytics, as well as Cybersecurity Engineering.
“We are grateful for donors like MacKenzie Scott, whose groundbreaking vision through philanthropy has created sustained, generational impact at Morgan,” Endia DeCordova, the vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the Morgan State University Foundation, said in a press release. “Our thoughtful stewardship of her initial gift has strengthened Morgan’s capacity to grow our endowment and create meaningful opportunities for our students while strategically investing in the University’s future. This new transformative contribution—and her continued trust in Morgan—affirm that we are not only rising but leading, charting a bold path forward for our students and our institution.”
The $63 million donation will help further support Morgan State’s expansion
The university announced it would use the second donation to further its endowment, enhance support for students, and keep developing research. It is also launching the country’s first public and nonprofit M.D. medical school at an HBCU. The project is also being supported by a $1.75 million planning grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
“Morgan is on an extraordinary journey,” Morgan State University President David K. Wilson said. “This investment will allow us to accelerate that momentum, breaking barriers, advancing equity, and fulfilling our vision to become one of the top public research universities in the country—without losing our soul.”
A year after her divorce from Jeff Bezos in 2019, MacKenzie Scott gave $4.1 billion to charity, according to WMAR. This resulted in Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University receiving their largest donations to date in 2020 as she gave them $55 million in unrestricted donations. In September, Scott donated $70 million to the United Negro College Fund.