ATLANTA — Spelman College students will get the chance to reap the benefits of a $10 million gift donated to the school.
In a news release this week, Spelman said the money, donated by Seth and Beth Klarman, will go towards funding scholarships and help students overcome financial barriers that may prevent them from graduating.
"What is striking about Seth and Beth's generosity is that their commitment to Spelman has been built over a long period of time. They have taken the time and care to know the College well," said Mary Schmidt Campbell, president of Spelman.
The school said the Klarmans have committed more than $16 million to Spelman since 2015.
Their first supported scholarships for across a range of academic disciplines. In 2017, the Klarmans continued their giving with a subsequent gift of $5 million, which helped support hundreds of students complete their studies.
"They've visited classes and engaged with students and faculty members to understand Spelman’s goals. They’ve reviewed statistics on financial aid versus financial need," Campbell added. "Data driven, they ask tough questions that enable us to develop useful analyses of the financial aid support students require for degree completion and success that, ultimately, strengthen us as an institution.”
Spelman officials said that to date, the Klarmans' generosity has helped more than 400 Spelman students.
“Spelman is an extraordinary educational institution. We hope our support ensures that exceptional young women have the opportunity to attend and graduate from Spelman, and go on to have rewarding and fulfilling careers,” said Seth and Beth Klarman in the news release.
“Spelman students become leaders in their chosen fields and, as activists and participants in the work for social justice, they are strong voices for positive change in America," they added.
Philanthropists have donated millions of dollars to help historically black colleges and universities in the Atlanta area.
In June, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, said they would $120 million toward student scholarships at HBCUs. The couple said they would give $40 million to each of three institutions: the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and Morehouse College.
And MacKenzie Scott announced that she had given away nearly $1.7 billion since last fall to 116 nonprofits, including six HBCUs.
Scott is ex-wife of Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos. Morehouse College announced last month that they received a $20 million gift from Scott.
