Contact:
Kellee Edmonds
(202) 478-4662
edmondsk@aascu.org

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2021 –“On behalf of the American Association for State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), I am deeply grateful to philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott for her continued generosity to a range of educational institutions, including eight AASCU members—all of which are Hispanic-serving institutions.

The AASCU members that received a gift are California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; California State University Channel Islands; California State University, Fullerton; California State University, Northridge; Florida International University; University of California Merced; University of Central Florida; and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Last year, Ms. Scott pledged $4.1 billion in donations to a range of high-impact nonprofits and higher education institutions, with a focus on broadening access for underrepresented students—‘the new majority’ that includes the underserved, students of color, low-income students, and/or working adults. For many of these institutions, Ms. Scott’s donation has been the largest single-donor gift in their history. By our count, an additional dozen AASCU member institutions benefitted from her initial commitment in 2020. With these additional gifts, the total number of AASCU institutions benefitting stands at nearly two dozen.

The AASCU institutions that received a gift in 2020 are Alcorn State University (Miss.); Bowie State University (Md.); Delaware State University; Elizabeth City State University (N.C.); Lehman College, City University of New York; Norfolk State University (Va.); North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Prairie View A&M University (Texas); Texas A&M International University; University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Virginia State University; and Winston-Salem State University (N.C.).

Ms. Scott continues her extraordinary legacy of philanthropy with her latest gifts of more than $2.7 billion to nearly 290 organizations. Her philanthropy will enable institutions to invest critically needed resources into building endowments, funding new student programs, and ensuring students from ‘the new majority’ are well positioned to succeed.

I commend Ms. Scott for her focus on institutions that serve underfunded communities and build pathways for diverse students to enter the middle class and beyond.”

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The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of nearly 400 public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development. These are institutions Delivering America’s Promise. Visit us at www.aascu.org.