News Update

California colleges receive millions in donations from MacKenzie Scott

Several public colleges and universities in California have received large donations from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, who announced $2.7 billion in donations on Tuesday to hundreds of different organizations.

For several of the colleges, the gifts, which are for as much as $40 million, are the largest donations that they have ever received from a single donor. In a blog post announcing the donations, Scott said she aimed to donate to institutions that educate students “who come from communities that have been chronically underserved.”

The colleges that received gifts include a number of California’s community colleges: Long Beach City College, Chaffey College, College of the Desert, Pasadena City College, Porterville College, Santa Barbara City College and West Hills College Lemoore.

The award amounts included $30 million each to Long Beach City College and Pasadena City College, $25 million to Chaffey College, $20 million to Santa Barbara City College and $7 million to Porterville College. Long Beach City College, Pasadena City College and Santa Barbara City College each said their gifts were the largest donations that an individual has ever given to their colleges.

Five of the state’s four-year universities also received gifts: University of California, Merced; California State University, Channel Islands; California State University, Fullerton; California State University, Northridge; and Cal Poly Pomona.

CSU Channel Islands received a $15 million gift, while CSU Fullerton, CSU Northridge and Cal Poly Pomona each received $40 million donations. The gifts to each of those campuses also represented the largest one-time gifts that those institutions have ever received from an individual donor.

“This transformative gift provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance our future as leaders in equity-centered student success to provide a brighter and more equitable future for our students, their families and the communities we are so proud to serve,” Erika Beck, president of CSU Northridge, said in a statement.


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