Bowie State University said Tuesday that it has raised $50 million to support scholarships, building renovations and other initiatives at the oldest historically Black college in Maryland.
“We think that it’s extremely significant not just because we reached our goal early, but most importantly, because of how it’s going to benefit the students who want to come here, who want to graduate in a timely fashion despite the changing landscape for higher education, and especially for our HBCUs in recent times,” said Aminta H. Breaux, president of Bowie State.
The school launched the public phase of the fundraising campaign in December 2021.
Gifts raised during the campaign have been allocated to various areas, notably increasing the university’s endowment more than fivefold, from $7 million in 2019 to $40 million. Some of the money raised is funding private scholarships at Bowie State.
The campaign will also allocate funds to Bowie State’s athletic, fine arts and nursing departments, as well as the university’s entrepreneurship education ecosystem.
One of the projects under the campaign includes renovations to the basketball court at A.C. Jordan Arena courtesy of Kevin Durant and the Durant Family Foundation, which donated $500,000 in support of Bowie State athletics.
“Our fans are going to be treated to a brand-new fan experience because of the renovations on the inside of the basketball facility,” said Brent Swinton, Bowie State’s vice president for institutional advancement.
Truist Bank contributed $100,000 to support Bowie State’s Data Analytics Research Trading and Technology Lab and is offering mentorship and internship opportunities at the university.
Meanwhile, “infrastructure remains a concern for our university — for many HBCUs,” said Breaux. “As we have fallen behind with investing in the upgrades, the university has about a $75 million deferred maintenance goal to meet‚ and that’s a long way off.”
A big boost for the campaign was philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s $25 million donation in 2020, Bowie State’s largest single private gift. Scott donated more than $800 million to HBCUs and other colleges in 2020.
The university has established a dedicated unit within the office of financial aid to oversee privately funded scholarships, as well as new units focused on stewardship and alumni engagement within its division of institutional advancement.
According to Brian Clemmons, vice president for enrollment management, Bowie State previously was receiving about 200 scholarship applications per year. He credits the scholarship unit with helping to increase that number to 2,700 applications in the past year.
Michel’e Rice, a 20-year-old Bowie State nursing student from Greensboro, N.C., was awarded private scholarships during her freshman year. She’s also received a renewable scholarship from the Maguire Foundation, which supports some of her tuition and covers her housing and meal plans, according to Rice.
“I’m so excited for the campus and so excited for the university,” Rice said, praising Breaux and the university’s fundraising efforts. “It’s amazing also knowing that she has been able to get all these endorsements and help us be able to graduate with less debt and be able to live debt free while we’re on campus.”
Breaux said the $50 million fundraising campaign was just the beginning. Bowie State plans to announce new fundraising goals in the coming weeks.
“The $40 million is, quite frankly, not enough endowment that we need to grow. Not only at Bowie State University but all our HBCUs to help us be stable for any future economic crises and the long-term viability of all of our institutions,” Swinton said. “So yes, we’ve had incredible growth with the endowment, but there’s more to be done in service to our students.”