UC Merced has received a $9 million gift from an anonymous donor which will ensure the continuation of a scholarship that will directly benefit local students.
The donation comes in part to advance the Boldly Forward campaign, the fundraising initiative seeking to bring in $200 million over the next 10 years.
Driving the news: The $9 million gift will establish the Gateway Scholarship Endowment Fund, which will provide scholarships to at least 36 incoming UC Merced first-year students annually.
- Preference will be given to incoming students who are graduating from a Merced high school.
- UC Merced says the fund’s top priority will be to increase higher-education access and opportunities for local students.
What they’re saying: UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz called the $9 million donation transformational and said it empowers the university to continue to help students throughout the region.
- “The Gateway Scholars Program has enabled countless students from Merced to pursue their personal, professional and academic goals, and now, with the establishment of the Gateway Scholarship Endowed Fund, future scholars wishing to remain in the San Joaquin Valley for their college education will have access to resources that help them thrive,” Sanchez Munoz said.
