MacKenzie Scott makes donation to Elizabeth City State University

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has once again made a major investment in historically Black colleges and universities, this time with a historic $42 million donation to Elizabeth City State University. The gift marks one of the largest single donations in the North Carolina HBCU’s history and provides the university with unrestricted funding to support student success, academic programs, and long-term campus initiatives.

Scott, a billionaire philanthropist and author best known for her large-scale charitable giving since her divorce from Jeff Bezos, has made HBCUs a key focus of her philanthropy. Her latest contribution to ECSU continues a pattern of major investments in institutions that have historically been underfunded but remain vital to educating and uplifting Black communities across the United States. This marks the university’s second major gift from Scott in the past six years.

“I want to express our deepest gratitude to MacKenzie Scott for this remarkable act of generosity and for her recognition of the critical role that HBCUs play in expanding opportunity and strengthening communities,” said ECSU Chancellor S. Keith Hargrove Sr. “Her investment affirms what we already know: that institutions like ECSU are powerful catalysts for change.”

The announcement was made by Hargrove during the university’s annual Founders Day Convocation. The chancellor shared that the gift will help advance the university’s newly launched five-year strategic plan, ASCEND 2030. The plan focuses on expanding endowed scholarship programs to support student learning and success, establishing endowments for innovative academic programs, and investing in academic, athletic, and residential infrastructure to strengthen the campus experience.

“Gifts like this do more than provide resources; they accelerate momentum,” Hargrove said. “This gift allows institutions like Elizabeth City State University to move boldly toward the future while remaining grounded in the mission that has guided us for 135 years.”

On March 13, the university celebrated its 135th anniversary. Founded in 1891 as the State Colored Normal School in Elizabeth City, ECSU has long served as a vital educational anchor for Black students in eastern North Carolina and beyond, preparing generations of leaders, educators, and professionals.

Scott’s latest investment not only strengthens ECSU’s future but also reinforces the growing momentum behind philanthropic support for HBCUs nationwide.

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