Diverse Education News May 26, 2020 127 African American Banker Pays Off Tuition Balances of 50 New Spelman Graduates African American banker Frank Baker and his philanthropist wife Laura Day Baker have announced a gift of $1 million in scholarships for graduates of Spelman College, a historically Black college or university (HBCU). The first recipients of some of the funds are 50 graduates from the class of 2020, whose tuition balances were paid off, said the college in a statement<https://www.spelman.edu/about-us/news-and-events/news-releases/2020/05/21/frank-baker-of-siris-and-laura-day-baker-to-pay-remaining-tuition-for-nearly-50-spelman-college-seniors>. According to Forbes<https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2020/05/22/frank-baker-pays-off-tuition-for-graduates-of-historically-black-college/?fbclid=IwAR0LMdUNsaY2SRt_3ZnwTl8sVoTa1naCl8-4ha9JnxQh8PYpdX8_J3nCfjw#363ce128390d>, this year's recipients are high achieving women graduates. And in the coming years, the scholarships will provide support to ensure that future high achieving graduating seniors have the financial resources to graduate. "We are all aware of the headwinds that people of color - especially women - face in our country, the challenges of which are made even more apparent by the economic and health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," said the Bakers, in the statement. "We believe it is critical that talented women finish college and confidently enter - free of undue financial stress - the initial stage of their professional careers." The Bakers' gift comes almost exactly a year after billionaire Robert Smith announced<https://diverseeducation.com/article/146008/> he would pay off the student loan debt for the 2019 graduating class of Morehouse College. Forbes said Frank Baker, a graduate of the University of Chicago, was inspired by Smith's gift from last year. Following the announcement of the Bakers' gift, Smith lauded the decision. "So proud of my brother Frank Baker and congratulations to the Spelman Class of 2020!" Smith tweeted<https://twitter.com/RFS_Vista/status/1264321251037741056>, after the Bakers' announcement. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Building Capacity for Humanities Special Collections at HBCUs - Become an ally and partner with us to protect, preserve and share a more authentic record of American history. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/humanities-2019.html for more information. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/ and click on the Donate Now button to invest in this project. Your support is appreciated. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/