Latest Endowments News

Bill Gates says he has COVID, experiencing mild symptoms
SEATTLE (AP) — Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Tuesday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms. Via Twitter, the billionaire philanthropist said he will isolate until he is again healthy. “I’m fortunate to be vaccinated and...
‘For the welfare of mankind’: Hospital celebrates 95 years
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Dozens gathered May 2 to mark the 95th anniversary of Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro with a celebration led by president and CEO Gordon Ferguson. Murfreesboro native Betty Loveless, granddaughter of founding hospital board...

Human rights advocate to lead PEN's writers' protection work
NEW YORK (AP) — The literary writer’s organization PEN America is expanding its support of writers around the world who face imprisonment for their work by hiring human rights advocate Liesl Gerntholtz to head the new PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center. The new center will build...

Harvard pledges $100M to research, atone for role in slavery
BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University is vowing to spend $100 million to study and atone for its extensive ties with slavery, the school’s president announced Tuesday, with plans to identify and support the descendants of enslaved people who labored at the Ivy League campus. President...

British Museum to remove Sackler name from galleries
LONDON (AP) — The British Museum will remove the Sackler name from galleries, rooms and endowments following global outrage over the role the family played in the opioid crisis. The museum is the latest cultural institution to cut ties with the Sacklers. The Sackler name has been...
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts receives $60 million gift
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts announced that longtime patrons James and Frances McGlothlin gifted the museum a sizable donation of artwork and funds worth an estimated $60 million. The McGlothlin’s gift includes a financial contribution to VMFA’s current...

States urged to address funding disparities for HBCUs
Several members of Congress are calling on states to address gaps in their funding for schools in the land grant university system that shortchange historically Black colleges and universities. In a letter sent to governors, lieutenant governors and statehouse legislative leadership...
Mississippi HBCU gets $10M from Netflix CEO and wife
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A private, historically Black college in Mississippi is getting $10 million from the head of Netflix and his wife, a film producer. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings visited Tougaloo College on Monday to talk about the donation from himself and his wife, Patricia...
