Spelman, a historically black women's college, receives a $100 million gift
Spelman College, the women's college in Atlanta, announced Thursday that it had received a $100 million donation, which its officials called the largest gift ever to a historically black college.
The gift comes from Ronda E. Stryker, a trustee of Spelman, and her husband, William D. Johnston, chairman of the asset management firm Greenleaf Trust. Ms. Stryker is president of the medical device company Stryker Corporation, which was founded by her grandfather.
In an announcement, Spelman College said $75 million of the gift was for scholarships, and the remaining money would go toward improving student housing and developing an academic focus on public policy and democracy.
In a statement, Spelman President Helene Gayle said the college was “strengthened and inspired” by the couple's generosity, adding: “This gift is a critical step in our school's mission to remove financial barriers to taking away the burden of starting and completing a Spelman education.”
Billionaires known for their education philanthropy, Ms. Stryker and her husband had previously donated $30 million to the university.
With her husband, Mrs. Stryker, a former special education teacher in Kalamazoo, Mich., also endowed a medical school at Western Michigan University, a school the couple attended, and made a major gift to Harvard. Mrs. Stryker has been a trustee of Spelman College since 1997.
Ms. Stryker could not be reached for comment. But in a statement she said: “I believe it is important that all women have the opportunity to discover their talents, challenge their self-doubts and realize the power of achieving individual success.”
Spelman is one of only two women at historically black colleges and universities.
Philanthropists have increasingly focused on HBCUs and other Black nonprofits following the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which reignited a national reckoning on race.
Last week, the United Negro College Fund announced that it had received a $100 million grant from the Lilly Endowment that would be used to fund 37 black colleges, including Spelman and its associated men's college, Morehouse College.
The two colleges were also among those that had received major gifts from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, who has donated more than $500 million to HBCUs in recent years. In 2020, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin also donated $120 million to Spelman, Morehouse and the United Negro College Fund.
Spelman and Morehouse are among the better known and most prestigious of the roughly 100 U.S. colleges considered historically black, a designation that means the schools were founded to educate black students before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when many colleges and universities banned their access to education. recognition.