Morehouse College gets $20 million anonymous gift
An anonymous donor gave $20 million to Morehouse College, the private, historically Black men’s school in Atlanta announced Tuesday.
The college will use the money to recruit new faculty by funding six endowed professorships in various divisions, from business to humanities and science. The school described the donation as the largest it’s received designated for professor positions.
“Our faculty are the heartbeat of this institution. They lead our academic programs, develop the intellect of our students, and challenge them to go out in the world and be great. They have fueled the success of thousands of Morehouse Men,” said a statement from President David A. Thomas, who recently announced that he’ll retire at the end of the coming school year.
“This transformational $20 million gift will allow us to increase the ranks of our esteemed and talented professors so that we can uphold the legacy of excellence in our classrooms as our veteran faculty retire,” Thomas said.
More than 300 full-and part-time faculty work at Morehouse now.
Tuesday’s announcement makes for a monumental day of giving for Atlanta’s HBCUs. Morehouse School of Medicine, an independent medical school that is also a member of the Atlanta University Center Consortium, said Tuesday it has received $175 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies. That figure is the largest single gift the medical school has received in its history.
At Morehouse College, the $20 million will fund professors in the Division of Business and Economics; the Division of Humanities, Social Sciences, Media, and the Arts; and the Division of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The gift was made to the college’s ongoing capital campaign, launched publicly in 2022, which aims to raise $500 million for various initiatives, including student scholarships, faculty recruitment, campus improvements and academic programs. With this latest gift, the campaign has reached nearly $290 million in donations, according to Morehouse College.
The college has received other major gifts in recent years, including $20 million in 2020 from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The year before Morehouse received a gift totaling $34 million from investor Robert F. Smith to pay student loan debt for the 2019 graduating class.
Atlanta University Center at a glance
The collection of historically Black colleges and universities that make up the Atlanta University Center has long been a symbol of excellence and education, with many of the schools’ beginnings dating back to the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.
The schools officially united as the Atlanta University Center Consortium in 1929 to share some services and programs, but each school maintains its own board of directors and president.
- Morehouse College. Founded February 14, 1867. Celebrates Founders Week in February.
- Spelman College. Founded April 11, 1881. Celebrates Founders Day in April.
- Clark Atlanta University. Consolidated in 1988 from Atlanta University (1865) and Clark College (1869). Celebrates Founders Day in March.
- Morehouse School of Medicine (Chartered 1981)
- Morris Brown College. Founded January 5, 1881. Celebrates Founders Day in March
- Interdenominational Theological Center. Founded 1958.
- Museums: The Atlanta HBCUs are treasure troves of Black art
About the Author
