Spelman College in Atlanta receives biggest single donation with $100 million gift
Spelman College trustee Ronda Stryker and her husband William Johnston gave the historic gift to the private Atlanta school for women. This gift follows news that the United Negro College Fund plans to create a pooled endowment fund to be shared by about three dozen HBCUs nationwide, including...
The historic contribution comes from Ronda Stryker, the longest-serving member of Spelman’s Board of Trustees, and her husband, William Johnston. Stryker sits on the board of directors of Stryker Corp., a Michigan-based medical technologies firm founded by her grandfather. Johnston is chairman of Greenleaf Trust, an investment banking firm.
The college will use $75 million to fund endowed scholarships for future students. The remaining dollars will go to renovate dormitories, to develop an academic focus on democracy and public policy, and to provide flexible funding to support other needs.
Dr. Helene Gayle, who became Spelman’s president in 2022, described the gift as “transformational” for the women’s college that enrolls nearly 2,600 students. Gayle said she was brought to tears when she learned of the gift.
“...(T)he ability to secure the future for the kinds of young women that I see every day on campus was just awe-inspiring and incredibly, deeply emotional and deeply moving,” Gayle said in a phone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
She said it also heralds a significant moment for the nation’s HBCUs, which have long received far less philanthropic support than their non-HBCU counterparts.
“I hope this is a message that says HBCUs that already punch well above their weight are worth investing in. We know that there’s a huge return in investment,” Gayle said.
Last week, the United Negro College Fund announced during an event in Atlanta it received a $100 million unrestricted grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. The UNCF plans to use the money to create a pooled endowment fund to be shared by about three dozen HBCUs nationwide, including Spelman.
A 2021 report from the Century Foundation found the size of endowments per full-time student at private non-HBCU schools was, on average, seven times larger than that of private HBCUs. Among public colleges, non-HBCU endowments averaged about three times the size of those at historically Black schools, according to that study.
Stryker previously has donated about $70 million to Spelman, said Gayle. That includes a $30 million gift in 2018 for the Center for Innovation & the Arts, construction of which is slated to finish next year.
The philanthropist joined the Spelman board 27 years ago and currently serves as its co-vice-chair. In a statement, Stryker said she feels “strongly that education can be both powerful and transformational, especially for women.”
“I have seen first-hand the enormous impact financial investment has generated for Spelman’s highly talented students. It’s important to me that all women be provided an opportunity to explore their talents, challenge their self-doubts and realize the power of achieving individual success,” the statement said.
Spelman aims to remove financial barriers that make it hard for many students to attend, and the new donation will support need-based scholarships, Gayle said. About 40% of students are eligible for federal Pell Grants, awarded to low-income students, and 80% of Spelman students get some kind of need-based aid, she said.
Spelman’s average annual cost — which includes tuition, fees and living expenses minus the average grants and scholarships for federal financial aid recipients — is about $29,000, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard.
“It breaks my heart to have letters and notes from students who clearly could use the experience here ... whose parents have to take out large amounts of loans just to keep them in,” said Gayle.
Gayle hopes to raise additional dollars so that, at some point, Spelman can meet the full need of its entire student body. That would take about $500 million more, she estimated.
Spelman sophomore and student trustee Zoe Shepard, 19, said the school’s traditions and sisterhood were big reasons she chose to attend. This donation will open doors for students who couldn’t previously consider Spelman because of the cost.
“I also was really touched by the idea that someone was just invested in Spelman and saw all the things that we see as students and the things that I cherish about my own Spelman experience,” said Shepard, a health science student from Cobb County.
The college also plans to use some of the donation to support academic work in public policy and democracy. Gayle said that planning is still in the early stage. And as soon as possible, she said Spelman will begin to update residence halls, some of which lack air conditioning, and make other student housing upgrades.
The donation coincides with the 100th anniversary of the college’s name. Though the school dates back to 1881, it became known as Spelman College in 1924.
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