Odessa College will receive a major charitable gift, and its largest one-time donation ever, as one of just a few Texas schools to be selected by billionaire author MacKenzie Scott.
In a Twitter post, Odessa College said that it will receive a $7 million gift from Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett.
"The school is one of those selected to receive a major charitable gift thanks to its outstanding work on behalf of students and the community," State Sen. Kel Seliger said in a Twitter post.
In an announcement on Medium, Scott said she was giving charitable gifts to 286 organization in a third round of donations. The other two rounds were in December of 2020 and July of this year.
The college said on Twitter that, "It is because of Odessa College’s collective impact and proven results" that they received the gift.
Scott, who is the ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, said she was giving a total of $2.73 billion in this latest gift, which includes 30 colleges, a Forbes article stated.
"This amount of unrestricted funding is a game-changer for the college, our students and our community," said Dr. Gregory Williams, president of Odessa College, in a press release.
Odessa College said in that same press release that this is the largest one-time donation that the college has ever received.
"The possibilities are endless, and we look forward to providing our stakeholders with updates regarding the fund’s use and impact. Odessa College is extremely grateful for the generosity of Ms. MacKenzie Scott, and humbly accepts this extraordinary gift on behalf of both the students and the community that we serve," Williams said in the release.
The University of Texas, San Antonio, received $40 million in this round of charitable donations as well, the school announced in an article on its website.
Amarillo Community College in Texas received a gift from Scott totaling $15 million, according to KFDA.