Georgia's Spelman College receives $38 million gift from MacKenzie Scott

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Spelman College.

Credit: Courtesy Spelman College

Atlanta's Spelman College announced a $38 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, making it her second investment to the college in the past five years.

Spelman said that the donation will help the college expand financial aid and scholarship support to students and invest in state-of-the-art technology, according to a press release from the women's college.

“We are profoundly grateful to MacKenzie Scott for this incredibly generous and unrestricted $38 million gift to Spelman College,” Spelman Interim President Rosalind Brewer said in a statement. “This investment is a powerful affirmation of our mission and our commitment to educational excellence and equity. 

"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.” 

In 2020, Scott gifted Spelman $20 million, which helped the college support student scholarships and strengthened the school’s long-term academic funding.

Spelman said that the two investments show Scott's drive to support fairness in education at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like the school and her belief in Spelman's leadership and student success.