PETERSBURG, Va. (AP) - A donation from author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott to Virginia State University has become the largest single donor gift in the historically Black college’s history.
The $30 million donation by Scott was announced Tuesday in a post that detailed the nearly $4.2 billion in gifts given to more than 300 nonprofit organizations by the philanthropist this year.
The university said the money would go toward “broader opportunities focusing on a holistic approach to academic excellence and student success and engagement while emphasizing leadership and professional development, career planning, and experiential learning.”
“Thanks to her investment in VSU, a generation of students who are living through the challenges of a pandemic, a social justice movement, and reduced scholarship funding will have additional resources as they continue to pursue their dreams of a world class education at Virginia State University,” University President Makola M. Abdullah said in a statement.
Scott made donations to several other historically Black colleges and universities, including Virginia’s Norfolk State, according to her post, which listed the colleges among the recipients of donations.
Earlier this year, Forbes named Scott one of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women for 2020.
Virginia State University has an attendance of just under 4,000 students and is located in Petersburg, about 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) south of Richmond.
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