Spelman College Receives Historic $100M Donation: The Largest-Ever Gift To A HBCU
Spelman College has made history on its 100th birthday as the recipient of a $100 million donation: the largest-ever single gift to a historically Black college.
The college is based in Atlanta and is a historically Black liberal arts college for women.
The donation came from businesswoman and philanthropist Ronda Stryker and her husband, William Johnston – the chairman of the wealth management company Greenleaf Trust.
Stryker has been a Spelman College Trustee since 1997 and a member of Harvard Medical School’s board of fellows member.
She is also the granddaughter of the founder of a medical device company, Stryker Corp.
The $100M Donation
The $100 million comes as Spelman College marks 100 years since its official naming in 1924 – previously named the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary.
In the announcement, the college said that $75 million of the gift will go to endowed scholarships for future students, helping to attract the best and brightest students.
“This gift is a critical step in our school’s mission to eliminate financial barriers to starting and finishing a Spelman education,” said Helene Gayle, the college’s president.
“We can’t thank Ronda Stryker enough for her selflessness and support as both a trustee and friend. There’s no doubt that Spelman College is better because of her.”
The remaining $25 million will be used to develop an academic focus on public policy and democracy, improve student housing, and provide flexible funding to meet critical strategic needs.
“I know a lot of people who would benefit from the Spelman experience… Who sometimes can’t because of financial reasons,” said Zoe Shepard, a sophomore at Spelman.
“Obviously, as a student, I really care about the scholarships… but I wasn’t aware of how important it also was to our leadership and the people higher up.”
Feature Image Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
