Oprah Winfrey visited the school on Monday, October 7, 2019, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program, according to Morehouse College . She announced a gift of $13 million. The 2019 gift brought her total giving to $25 million.
The cost of college still worries many young adults. That is why one scholarship story from Atlanta, now seven years old, still stands out.
It all started in 1989. At the 2019 event, she explained why she chose it. Thomas said the program paid for the education of nearly 600 scholars over the next 30 years. The new donation brings her total giving to $25 million. One was Randall Woodfin, class of 2003. He was elected mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, in 2017 at age 36, making him the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century. Another was Tope Folarin, who graduated in 2004. Four years later, the gap was nearly $25,000. The average debt for Black graduates was $52,726, versus $28,006 for white graduates. For graduates from the 1992-93 school year, the gap four years out was under $2,000. Winfrey started in 1989 and by 2019 had donated $25 million in total. During that time, almost 600 scholars were supported.
The widening gap was due to accumulated interest and student loans for graduate school, the authors said. That year, Winfrey gave Morehouse money to set up a scholarship fund. The fund became the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program. Morehouse President David A. He added that the scholarships also helped students gain global experience, taking them beyond the classroom and to many parts of the world. The program provided more than tuition assistance. The school also highlighted alumni who had benefited from her seed money in the program. The report examined graduates nationwide, not just Morehouse students, so it cannot tell us how Oprah Winfrey Scholars performed, but it does show the wider problem that aid like this can help ease. Student debt might not be solved by any individual scholarship, and these sources do not claim it can. What they do show is a long-term commitment. The Brookings report shows how debt can look very different once graduates have been repaying for a few years. Begin the search for scholarships early, ask about named awards at schools, and treat every dollar of aid as a way to borrow less.
She said the school has a “moral core” and a goal to shape servant leaders. She also said she felt that way the first time she visited the school. The gift made the fund the largest scholarship endowment in the college’s history, according to Morehouse. He was Morehouse’s third Rhodes Scholar and an award-winning writer, according to the school.
Morehouse is a historically Black all-male college in Atlanta, Georgia. The story is a reminder for students planning to go to college today.
