Georgia College and State University has been given a $9 million donation from the late Gertrude Ehrlich’s estate, the largest in the school’s 136-year history, the university announced Friday morning.
The Dr. Gertrude Ehrlich Endowed Scholarship will solely support students in need, providing assistance and need-based scholarships to students. With a portion of the fund designated for housing scholarships for local Pell Grant-eligible students, the funding also marks Georgia College’s first endowed housing scholarship, the university said.
Known as one of Georgia College’s first international students, Ehrlich arrived on campus as a teenager shortly after fleeing Nazi-controlled Austria with her family in 1939. She first landed in Atlanta but later enrolled at Georgia College in Milledgeville (which then was Georgia State College for Women) on a YWCA refugee scholarship, according to the university.
Now, Ehrlich’s estate is paying it forward — providing the same kind of assistance she received from the campus after Adolf Hitler’s Nazi forces seized her home country.
“We were lucky we were able to get out [of Austria],” Ehrlich said in a 2017 video interview with GCSU. “You could be arrested just for looking Jewish.”
“They were so kind to me,” said Ehrlich, who earned a refugee scholarship from the Young Women’s Christian Association nonprofit organization. “I didn’t pay a penny for anything. It was all taken care of.”
The historic gift will begin awarding scholarships in fall 2026, the university said.
School officials say the funds come at an opportune time for GCSU students, as the university has seen all-time highs in student demand, leading to record enrollment numbers. Joel Robinson, the university’s senior vice president of enrollment management, said the donation is truly a life-changing impact.
“As the university celebrates all-time high student interest — highlighted by an 83% spike in applications received during our fall ‘early action’ period since 2022 — these scholarships will ensure students have access to an elite education and will be supported throughout their college careers,” Robinson said in a news release from the university.
Ehrlich died in early 2025 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, at 102 years old, but her legacy will live on through a $9 million donation from her estate to the university, the university said.
GCSU President Cathy Cox said Ehrlich’s life serves as a case study in the power of resilience.
“Her legacy will benefit generations of students to come, creating opportunities for those who need it most to make a similarly positive impact on the world around them,” Cox said in a news release.
While on campus, Ehrlich lived in Sanford Hall and served as vice president of the math club on her way to earning her bachelor’s degree in mathematics. She graduated in 1943.
After graduation, Ehrlich went on to receive her master’s degree from the University of North Carolina and doctorate from the University of Tennessee before becoming a math professor at the University of Maryland.
She authored several math textbooks during her 37-year teaching tenure, and Georgia College presented her with an alumni achievement award in 1970, according to the university.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Macon Telegraph.
