A&T Receives $20M Gift to Support Student Needs, Key Priorities

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (June 24 2024) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has received a $20 million gift from an anonymous donor. The second-largest gift received in the university's history, the donation will have immediate impact on scholarships for students working to meet the cost to attend for the 2024-25 school year.

While N.C. A&T is ranked as America’s most affordable doctoral research university, a strong majority of the student body receives the Pell Grant, the nation’s most widely used source of federal aid. Many of A&T’s high-achieving students, who enter the university with an average GPA of 3.75, still struggle to make ends meet.

“For many families, meeting the rising costs of higher education is a challenge. Thanks to the support of our generous donor, we will be able to address this concern for a significant number of students,” said Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. “We will use this gift to also support strategic opportunities in emerging academic areas, expanded study abroad experiences for students, and enhanced campus lecture series. This gift will have a significant impact well into the future.” 

The $20 million donation will be allocated as follows:

• $15 million for scholarships
• $2 million to establish endowed professorships in artificial intelligence
• $2 million for international opportunities
• $1 million to promote opportunities for campus communities to interact with major thought leaders through the ongoing Chancellor’s Speaker Series

These initiatives – drawn heavily from priorities identified in Preeminence 2030: North Carolina A&T Blueprint, the university’s strategic plan – were identified in collaboration with the donor.

“Securing this funding was crucial to highlight the importance of supporting our first-generation and Pell-eligible students and celebrating our high-achieving students,” said Joseph Montgomery, associate vice provost for Enrollment Management. “This transformational scholarship gift will help us continue to lower our student loan debt. Most importantly, we can help some students as early as this fall 2024 term.”

As the nation’s largest historically Black college or university, A&T aims to increase access to higher education to ensure students’ successful, timely progression toward degree completion. The $15 million in funding allocated to scholarships will also help support a more equitable and inclusive campus environment.

The $5 million for international exchange, securing and retaining professors who are thought leaders in the realm of artificial intelligence and sustaining the Chancellor’s Speaker Series will support an academic and campus environment that will help ensure those students enjoy an outstanding educational experience at A&T.

With aspirations of becoming a Carnegie Very High Research Activity institution (R1), A&T works to expand its impact through creating solutions and partnerships that advance the human condition. The gift will have a lasting impact toward that overriding goal. For A&T, it is second in size only to a $45 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2020.

“We are deeply honored and grateful for this extraordinary gift,” said Kenneth E. Sigmon Jr., vice chancellor of University Advancement. “This generous support will provide crucial resources to our students, faculty and programs, ensuring that N.C. A&T continues to thrive as a leading institution for higher learning and innovation.”