Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott Donates $20 Million To South LA's Charles Drew University
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott on Monday gave $20 million to the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles, the largest private donation in the university's history.
The university, known as CDU, is one of the nation's four historically Black medical schools and a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. It's now one of the latest of the many public and private historically Black colleges and university to receive more than half a billion dollars from Scott.
"CDU has been on a tireless pursuit to cultivate diverse health professional leaders dedicated to social justice and health equity for underserved populations," Dr. David M. Carlisle, CEO and president of the university, said in a statement. "This investment will advance that goal by providing resources to support and enhance our outstanding education, research, clinical service, and community engagement."
CDU was founded in 1966 in the wake of civil unrest in Watts to address inequities in healthcare. It is ranked as the No. 2 school in the nation for student and faculty diversity, and is the only historically Black university west of Texas. Last year, it received a one-time allocation of $50 million from the state in order to establish a 4-year medical degree program and building to house it.
Scott, who was left with billions after divorcing Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, has made a name for herself by making multimillion-dollar donations to local community organizations, universities, and colleges across the nation with the goal of lifting up women, people of color, and people living in poverty. In previous rounds of giving, Southern California's non-profits and several universities and colleges catering to historically marginalized and underserved people received millions of dollars each.
