Simmons College News February 11, 2019 Simmons College of Kentucky gets $4 million gift for fundraising campaign Simmons College of Kentucky announced a major, $4 million gift Monday as the private institution - one of only two historically black colleges and universities in the state - works to raise $20 million by the end of 2020. Barney Barnett, Simmons' board chairman, revealed that he and his wife have pledged to give the school $4 million during the college's inaugural Transform Louisville Education Breakfast, which featured appearances by two Congressmen, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky and House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina. Barnett said $3 million of his family's donation will go toward renovating and modernizing buildings on Simmons' campus. The other $1 million will be used to establish an endowment fund that can help provide income for future needs. Mayor Greg Fischer praised Simmons' growth in recent years and noted that its success is important to Louisville, adding that there are no great cities east of the Mississippi River that do not have a historically black institution of higher education. "To see Simmons' renaissance is a real point of hope for our community," he said Monday. "All the elements are in place to go to the next level." Simmons College's ambitious goal of attracting $20 million in donations by the end of next year got a big boost from the Barnetts' multimillion-dollar contribution, and its leaders encouraged other people in the community to reach out and offer their support. The school's president, the Rev. Kevin Cosby, underscored the value Simmons and other historically black colleges and universities bring to their students and communities, noting that Simmons' local and regional economic impact totals $3 million annually. HBCUs comprise only 3 percent of America's colleges and universities, he said, but they educate a disproportionately high number of black students in higher education - and play a vital role in their lives and futures. "We are the institutions that black kids can come to where they celebrate themselves," he said. 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/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/