$80 Million Donation To Fund Education For 400 Students At Morehouse, Spelman
Morehouse and Spelman Colleges have been awarded millions to give their students full scholarships.
The donation provided by philanthropists Patty Quillin and her husband Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, will ensure that at least 200 students at Morehouse and 200 first-year students at Spelman will graduate debt-free.
Each institution received $40 million that will go toward the Morehouse College Student Success Program and the creation of a scholarship at Spelman named for alumna Dovey Johnson Roundtree, a civil rights and criminal defense attorney, according to Spelman’s press release.
This gift is the largest single donation in Morehouse’s 153-year history.
“This life-changing gift from Patty Quillin and Reed Hastings will fund a new generation of Morehouse Men who will be prepared to use their talents to lead and shape America into the nation that it should be — a beacon of opportunity that respects and values the contributions of people of all races, genders, and backgrounds,” said David A. Thomas, president of Morehouse College, in the institution’s press release.
At Spelman, 20 students, each year, will have their “tuition, and room and board” covered, according to the college’s press release.
Along with donations to Morehouse and Spelman, the pair gave $40 million to the United Negro College Fund, making it the “largest ever contribution by an individual in support scholarships at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” as stated in Spelman’s news release.