Mysterious Donor Gives Over $60 Million Dollars to Women-Led Colleges

Posted by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville at 11:51 AM on April 24, 2009.

Mystery donor keeps giving to woman-run colleges:

The mystery college donor has struck again — this time at Binghamton University in New York, whose financial aid office phone started ringing off the hook as word of an anonymous $6 million contribution spread across campus.

Binghamton is the latest of at least a dozen universities to receive donations totaling more than $60 million in recent weeks. The gifts have arrived with the same, highly unusual stipulation: not only must the donor must remain anonymous, but not even the college can know who it is or try to find out.

The recipient colleges seem to have almost nothing in common except this: so far, all are led by women.

Which might make one think there's a woman behind the gifting, maybe someone who's made more money than she could ever spend, someone who believes, like our First Lady, that "communities and countries and ultimately the world are only as strong as the health of their women [and] part of that health includes an outstanding education," and knows that female students tend to benefit from women-run universities. Or maybe it's an informal organization of like-minded women, pooling their resources. I slaver at the thought of a meeting of this secret cabal, which I imagine to be comprised of: Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, Maxine Waters, NinaGarciaFashionDirectorAtElleMagazine, Whoopi Goldberg, Suze Orman, Diane Keaton, Joan Chen, Jodie Foster, and OPRAH!

Or, it might make people wonder what kind of corrupt man is doing it:

It's unclear whether the donations are coming from a single individual, but seem clearly related. On Internet discussion boards, speculation on the source has ranged from a humble philanthropist so selfless as to not even claim a tax deduction, to disgraced financier Bernie Madoff or a soon-to-be-divorced businessman trying to unload hidden assets.

Of course. It's probably Mel Gibson, facing one of the most expensive divorces in history, and one day the benefactors of his not-generosity will be known as the SugarTits Scholars.

I just love how the AP apparently couldn't find any speculation that might reasonably be filed under "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves." It's gotta be a guy—and a guy in trouble, at that, because no guy in his right mind would help specifically women-run universities on purpose!

Anyway...

DeFleur said the gift was especially appreciated considering how many students are struggling to pay bills with one or both parents out of work. More than half of Binghamton's students get some form of financial aid, and calls quickly started pouring in from students.

..."They wanted to sign up," DeFleur said. "We said, 'we'll have the guidelines out of soon.' That's just an indicator that there is really need. So many students, they want to go to school and they want to go now more than ever, and these are some of the most difficult times."

Maude bless the donor, whoever it is.

[H/T to Shaker Liz.]

Tagged as: women, donations, money, college, financial aid, mystery, women-led colleges

Melissa McEwan writes and edits the blog Shakespeare's Sister.