NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A historically Black university in Louisiana has received a $20 million donation from MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The gift is the largest private contribution in the school’s history and part of hundreds of millions of dollars Scott announced that she had given away.
Xavier University of Louisiana announced the gift on Tuesday, saying the donation will allow the school to expand scholarships and make needed investments to sustain their mission as the country’s only Catholic and historically Black university.
“This is a remarkable demonstration of support and encouragement for Xavier and its mission, and a reminder that what we do is important-not only at the University, but also within our global community,” Reynold Verret, the university’s president, said in a news release.
The school produces more Black medical school graduates than any other university in the U.S., the school said. A little over 3,000 students attend the university.
The announcement said the donation was anonymous but Patrice A. Bell, the school’s Vice President of Administration and Chief of Staff later confirmed that it came from MacKenzie Scott. Scott on Tuesday announced that she had given away $1.67 billion to various organizations who address issues such as racial or gender equity. She listed Xavier as one of the organizations.
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