The University of the District of Columbia’s president announced that the HBCU had received a historic $2.3 million in donations from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
Ronald Mason Jr., the university president, told The Washington Post that he first received an email from the donor who anonymous individual who wished to make a substantial donation to fund scholarships.
“We put together a proposal quickly,” Mason told them. The UDC then received a $300,000 check.
The anonymous gifter then sent a representative to meet with the Mason on the main campus on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest Washington, where the donor was given a tour. A $2 million check was then sent to UDC via FedEx package last month.
According to a press release, the $2 million gift will create two new scholarship programs, the DAWN Deans’ Community Leaders Scholarships and the DAWN Deans’ Scholarships by Degree and Programs, which will be housed under the umbrella scholarship, the Deans’ Developing America’s Workforce Nucleus (DAWN) Scholarships.
The University’s DAWN initiative seeks solutions to the nation’s talent shortage by creating talent identification and refinement systems to cultivate and increase STEM-based talent from underrepresented populations.
“I do not know who the donor is,” Mason told the news outlet. “I cannot say who the intermediary is. But I know the check was good, and we’re going to put it to good use.”
To be eligible for the scholarships, degree-seeking students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 and at least six credits per semester. WDLL students must have a high school diploma or GED certificate. Students must also be Pell/SNAP eligible. Priority will be given to District of Columbia residents and associate degree-seeking students with a minimum of 30 completed credit hours.
