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Morgan State’s Record Gift; A Higher Ed Update

Morgan State University

Billionaires have grown richer during the pandemic, perhaps none more than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. But at least one billionaire--Bezos' ex-wife Mackenzie Scott--is striving to give most of her wealth away. Scott recently donated $4 billion dollars to hundreds of groups -- about one-fifth of it to historically Black, Hispanic and tribal colleges.

We ask Morgan State University president David Wilson what its $40 million dollars will mean, and how he sees the import of Scott’s choices.

Plus, Scott Jaschik, editor of Inside Higher Ed, on how the pandemic is jolting higher education.

Read more about Mackenzie Scott's gifts here:
384 Ways to Help
UMES statement on gift
Bowie State statement on gift

Check out more Inside Higher Ed coverage:
Few Positives in Final Fall Enrollment Numbers
A Fall Like No Other
Doubts About Going to College

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'