Spelman College, a private, historically Black, women’s liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia

Superman College received a historic gift of $100 million from businesswoman and philanthropist Ronda Stryker and her husband, William Johnston, on January 18, 2024. This is the largest single donation ever to a historically Black college or university (HBCU). Stryker has been a Spelman College trustee since 1997, and has worked for decades to empower women through higher education and advance opportunities for additional marginalized groups. The donation will help Spelman College become need-blind, meaning that it will admit students regardless of their financial situation. $75 million of the donation will go to endowed scholarships for future students, while the remaining $25 million will be used to develop an academic focus on public policy and democracy, improve student housing, and provide flexible funding to meet critical strategic needs. The donation is an important first step on Spelman’s path to becoming need-blind, and it will have a lasting impact on the college and its students.

Spelman College was founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary by two teachers from Massachusetts, Harriet E. Giles and Sophia B. Packard, who wanted to educate Black freedwomen. Spelman received its collegiate charter in 1924, making it America’s oldest private HBCU liberal arts college for women. Spelman is a founding member of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium, and has a strong reputation for academic excellence and social activism.

*Spelman has produced many notable alumni, such as Stacey Abrams, the first African-American woman in the U.S. to win a major party’s nomination for governor;

*Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple;

*Marian Wright Edelman,  founder of the Children’s Defense Fund;

*Rosalind Brewer, CEO of Walgreens.

Spelman has also achieved many milestones in its history, such as being the first HBCU to receive accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1932; being the first HBCU to join the Association of American Universities in 1947; and being the first HBCU to receive a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society in the U.S., in 1996. Spelman College is a proud and influential institution that has shaped the lives of many women of African descent.

More HBCU News.

• Missouri HBCU in turmoil after suicide of administrator who alleged bullying by white president Black college in Missouri is in turmoil after the suicide of an administrator who alleged bullying by the school’s president.

• Delaware State president responds to Elon Musk-endorsed anti-HBCU post. Delaware State president Tony Allen, among others, responded to Elon Musk’s racist comments towards HBCU aviation students.

• HBCU administrator’s death by suicide prompts calls for president’s resignation Calls for the resignation of Lincoln University of Missouri President John Moseley are growing following the death of Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, a university alum and vice president of student affairs who died by suicide on Jan.

• Billionaire couple gives Spelman College largest-ever single donation to an HBCU: A billionaire couple is giving $100m to Atlanta’s Spelman College, which the women’s school says is the largest-ever single donation to a historically Black college or university (HBCU)

TiK4TaT Research Team.