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Morgan State announces $3M scholarship donation
A new $3 million donation will allow Morgan State University to give full scholarships to students living in Baltimore city, the school announced Wednesday.
The gift comes from former student Calvin E. Tyler Jr., who began studying business administration at the historically black institution in 1961 but left in 1963 because he didn’t have enough money to complete his degree.
Tyler took a job as a UPS driver in 1964, and by the time he retired in 1998, he had moved up to a senior vice president position and earned a seat on the company’s board of directors.
Tyler and his wife, Tina, have made a number of donations to a Morgan State scholarship established in their name since 2002; the gift announced Wednesday brings the total to $5 million, according to the university.
Since 2003, the fund endowed by the Tylers has provided scholarships to 31 students, according to the university.
The donation is a “vote of confidence” in the university and its president, David Wilson, Tyler said in a statement.
“I think anyone who has had any success in life and has the ability to reach back and help others, this is the time for them to do it,” he said.
Officials believe the total, $5 million donation — the largest individual gift in the school’s history — is also the fifth-largest gift ever made by an individual to a historically black college or university.
Ninety percent of the university’s students receive some sort of financial aid, according to the university.
“This incredibly generous donation from the Tylers will provide many talented, hard-working students with a higher education they may not otherwise have achieved,” Wilson said in a statement. “But more than that, it will help ensure the success of Morgan’s mission and benefit the youth of Baltimore city, at this particularly challenging time and far into the future.”
