MacKenzie Scott Makes An Unrestricted $12M Donation To The Howard University College Of Medicine

According to its website, the author and philanthropist gave the educational institution a $12 million donation as part of $2.2 billion in grants she’s gifted to 360 organizations across the nation in 2023. 

In an unusual donor move, per the news release, the gift is unrestricted, which means it is fully up to Howard and the College of Medicine to allocate where the funds will be used.

According to Andrea A. Hayes Dixon, MD, dean of the College of Medicine, the donation will go toward an innovations center as a collaboration between the College of Medicine and the College of Engineering and Architecture.

“The center will allow Howard University students, through the support of MacKenzie Scott, to be leaders in medical technology innovation,” Hayes Dixon said in the news release. “We intend to capitalize on the diverse knowledge base of our students—knowledge that could change how medicine is practiced throughout the world.” 

What’s more, the forthcoming facility’s driving force will be providing medical and engineering students with the opportunity to learn about medical technology while also creating new devices to push the needle forward regarding patient care.

No stranger to outpouring her support for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), MacKenzie previously presented Howard with the largest single donor donation in the prominent HBCU’s history.

In 2020, she gifted the school with a historic $40 million.

“My hope is that this gift will further solidify our College of Medicine as a world-class institution that attracts and retains future leaders in the field of medicine,” Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., said of the current donation. “We are extremely grateful to Ms. Scott for her amazing generosity and know that this gift will only strengthen us, and ultimately, the future of healthcare as our students learn to provide care that improves outcomes for all patients.” 

The school may hold special meaning to MacKenzie as she is a former student of Howard alumna and late renowned author Toni Morrison who taught the philanthropist during her tenure at Princeton University.