Anonymous donor gifts Morgan $2.75 million to increase access to a college education and support student success
By Special to the AFRO from Morgan State University
Funds Will Establish ‘Leading the Future’ Scholarship Program, Providing Opportunities for Up to 83 Students Each Semester to Pursue an Education
BALTIMORE — Morgan State University President David K. Wilson today announced receipt of a new $2.5-million gift from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. The latest gift follows an initial $250,000 from the donor, made in October. The total of $2.75 million in resources will be invested in students, providing access to a college education for as many as 83 scholars per semester through the establishment of the Leading the Future scholarship fund. In an already historic year of giving to the University, this latest gift is the second largest received from a non-alumnus.
“We are appreciative and excited that individuals are continuing to invest in Morgan publicly or anonymously and are creating opportunities for many of our students to have the financial assistance needed for them to stay in college,” said President Wilson. “Through the establishment of this scholarship, we look to positively impact the student academic experience by helping our scholars connect to transformational opportunities and resources that can get them over the finish line to graduation and beyond.”
After receiving the initial gift of $250,000, which was used to support students from diverse backgrounds who were seeking to enroll at Morgan, the University was gifted an additional $2.5 million from the same donor to expand upon its educational work and create more access for prospective students to attend college. With the latest gift, the University established the Leading the Future scholarship fund. Beginning in spring 2022, up to $5,000 per semester will be awarded to as many as 83 students toward covering their tuition, fees, room and board, and textbook expenses. Award preference will be given to first-generation college students and to students who are either involved in community activism or are majoring in hospitality/culinary, engineering, computer science, health care or business.
As an additional component of the Leading the Future scholarship program, students will participate in career services programming; group meetings with the Office of Student Success and Retention’s student scholars and strategic partners specialist; and networking/professional development events with industry leaders, Morgan alumni or peer mentors.
“When you think about the transformative power of higher education and the many students who will benefit from this generous gift, you can’t help but think about the exponential benefits higher education has on families and communities,” said Donna Howard, vice president for Institutional Advancement. “We are grateful for the opportunity this gift provides to expand support for our students and for the recognition a gift of this magnitude brings to Morgan.”
This latest gift is a continuation of the historic investment Morgan has received over the last 12 months, including, among others, very high-profile gifts such as $40 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, $20 million from Morgan alumnus Calvin Tyler, $2.7 million from financier Mike Novogratz, $5 million from Google, $1.25 million from Apple, $1 million from the Baltimore Ravens and $500,000 from NBCUniversal/Comcast.
Added Wilson, “We are committed to establishing the University as a global institution, achieving the highest level of research activity, revitalizing the community and revamping services to be comprehensive and student-centric. The types of investments we are currently receiving will go a long way toward achieving these goals.”
About Morgan
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
