As reported by the New York Times on Friday , over a dozen colleges and universities have recently been the unexpected recipients of anonymous donations. In total, about $70 million has been given, with 50-80% of each donation earmarked for scholarship money. The remaining money can be spent at the discretion of the universities.
This is tremendous news for students, many of whom are struggling to cover tuition and educational costs in a weak economy. But it's even more exciting for two reasons:
1. The scholarship money is designated specifically for women and minorities.
2. Each insitution has a female president.
In fact, having a woman president is one of the only commonalities. The schools aren't linked by geography and are a mix of public and private. Female presidents are the one common denominator.
The president of Binghamton University, Lois B. Defleur, put it best, saying, "the actions say, 'I'm investing in an institution because it has made achievements and I blieve that with women leaders it will have future accomplishments... That's pretty powerful in my view.'"
I agree. It is pretty powerful.
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I guess my school won't be getting any of that money =(
Anonymous donor = AWESOME!
Gosh, can you imagine having enough cash lying around to donate $70 mil and not even care if people knew it was you...