Home » Anonymous $20 million donation to create scholarship program at Centre College

Anonymous $20 million donation to create scholarship program at Centre College

Ten scholarships will be awarded beginning in 2016

DANVILLE, Ky. (Feb. 2, 2015) — An anonymous donor has made a $20 million challenge gift to create the new Lincoln Scholars Program at Centre College.

The full-ride-plus scholarship program, created for students who have the capacity and deep desire to change the world, will begin in the fall of 2016 with 10 inaugural recipients. Ten additional Lincoln Scholars will be selected for each subsequent entering class, with 40 Lincoln Scholars enrolled by the fall of 2019.

centreThe $20 million Lincoln Challenge offers a dollar-for-dollar match and is one of several lead gifts for Centre’s Third Century Campaign, which will conclude on Jan. 21, 2019, the bicentennial anniversary of Centre’s founding in 1819, preparing the College for its next century of service.

Once the Lincoln Challenge is complete, the program’s $40 million in funding will help achieve the campaign’s key focus. Endowed funds for student scholarships and financial aid represent an overall campaign goal of $130 million. Faculty and academic support ($35 million), campus projects ($25 million) and annual giving ($10 million) comprise the rest of the $200 million campaign.

At the end of the campaign’s “silent phase,” $116.5 million has already been raised, nearly 60 percent of the overall goal.

“Because it focuses above all on student scholarships, the Third Century Campaign will be transformational,” said John A. Roush, president of Centre College. “More than ever before, thanks to this generous challenge gift, we will be able to fulfill our mission as a place of opportunity. Adding yet another premier scholarship program will help Centre attract the best and brightest young men and women, irrespective of their ability to pay.”

In addition to covering full tuition, room and board, books and fees for four years, Lincoln Scholars will also receive $10,000 beginning their sophomore year to support educational enrichment opportunities such as study abroad, internships or undergraduate research.

Named for the Kentucky native and 16th president of the United States, the Lincoln Scholars Program seeks to attract to Centre students who, like Abraham Lincoln, will make a meaningful impact for good inspired by the “better angels” of their nature.

By 2019, a total of 160 students, some 11 percent of Centre’s overall student body, will be on full-tuition scholarships or better. Besides the Grissom and Lincoln programs at 40 students each, an additional 80 students per year are already receiving full-ride scholarships through Centre’s Brown Fellows and Posse Scholars programs.

These scholarship programs enhance Centre’s ongoing commitment to access and opportunity. More than 90 percent of students receive some form of aid and approximately 65 percent receive need-based aid, benefitting from $25 million in institutional aid currently awarded annually by the College.

Related news:

Centre students helping middle school girls reach their STEM potential

Centre named top U.S. school for studying abroad

Directory connects Centre students with alumni in search for internships, jobs