The publishing magnate Walter H. Annenberg will donate $50 million to the United Negro College Fund, the largest gift ever to the organization of historically black colleges and universities.
Mr. Annenberg, the former publisher of TV Guide and former U.S. ambassador to Britain, announced the donation March 2. He was later joined for a public appearance at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., by President Bush, who is honorary chairman of “Campaign 2000,” the fund’s fourth capital campaign.
The campaign is seeking to raise $200 million for the 41 private institutions represented by the uncf
“At a time when demand for highly educated workers is greater than ever before, the percentage of eligi4ble black students who enroll in a college or university is declining,” Mr. Annenberg said at the ceremony with the President. “This trend must be reversed, so that blacks and members of other minority groups can contribute fully to the progress of our nation in the 21st century.”
Said Mr. Bush, who has contributed to the fund since his college days: “Our mission must be to strengthen our historically black colleges and universities to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”
Christopher Edley, president of the uncf, said the gift was a challenge to “corporations, foundations, and individuals everywhere” to support such institutions.
Mr. Annenberg has a long history of contributing to education. His support of the uncf dates to 1979, when he made a challenge grant of $100,000, followed by a gift of $500,000 to the fund’s third capital campaign. In 1982, he contributed $1.5 million to a scholarship program administered by the organization.
“When I look back at the history of his involvement with the UnitedNegro College Fund,” Mr. Edley said, “it is clear that Ambassador Annenberg has long been in the forefront on the key issue of ‘Campaign 2000'--the need to prepare black youth to be productive members of society and active participants in the workplace of the present and the future.”
Since its inception in 1944, the fund has raised more than $650 million for its member institutions, which use the money for scholarships and improvements to their physical plants.
Last year, Mr. Annenberg donated $9 million to the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J., where he attended school and had previously made gifts of $12 million and $10 million.
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