Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is on another donation spree, giving more than $1.1 billion total to higher education institutions since October, with a focus on minority-serving institutions.
In 2019 — the same year Scott and her ex-husband, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, divorced — she pledged to give away most of her wealth. Scott’s fortune is estimated to be worth $39.9 billion, according to Bloomberg.
On Monday, the University of California, Merced said it has received a $38 million donation from Scott. It plans to use the donation for student success initiatives, faculty research programs and capital projects. The Hispanic-serving institution also received a $20 million donation from Scott in 2021.
Carl Albert State College, in Oklahoma, similarly announced Monday that it received a $23 million donation from Scott. The Native American-serving, nontribal college plans to craft a strategic plan for the funding that “ensures long-term, meaningful impact for students and for the communities the college is proud to support.”
So far, Howard University, in Washington, D.C., has garnered the largest donation among Scott’s recent gifts to colleges. Earlier this month, the philanthropist donated the historically Black university $80 million, earmarking $17 million of that amount for its medical college.
Many of the colleges have received gifts from Scott before.
Scott has made mass donations to higher education institutions in previous years — by 2021, she had given at least $1.5 billion total to roughly six dozen institutions. Her other rounds of donations have likewise focused on MSIs, such as HSIs and HBCUs.
Below, we’re rounding up colleges that have received gifts from Scott in her latest donation spree. Let us know if we’ve missed any announcements.
