Throughout the fall 2025 semester, billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated some $850 million to HBCUs and organizations that support them. Her total investment in HBCUs, issued over the past six years, is upwards of $1.2 billion.
Now, Elizabeth City State University is the latest HBCU to receive a record-breaking gift. Last week, ECSU Chancellor Keith S. Hargrove announced that Scott had donated $42 million — nearly triple the amount she gifted to the university in 2020, bringing her total investment in ECSU to $57 million in just 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 Chancellor Hargrove. “Her investment affirms what we already know: that institutions like ECSU are powerful catalysts for change.”
Chancellor Hargrove says Scott’s donation will play an integral role in the university’s ASCEND 2030 strategic plan. The investment will create endowments for student scholarships and academic programs, as well as support infrastructure improvements for academic, athletic, and residential facilities.
