AAAC Founders Scholarship Announcement

News Type
From the Dean

February 20, 2022

Dear Alumni and Friends of the Crown Family School African American Alumni Committee,

Just two years ago, the AAAC, in partnership with the Crown Family School, announced an innovative fundraising initiative – the AAAC Founders Scholarship Fund – to establish an endowment to support Black and African American students. I am pleased to report that the Fund has reached its target endowment level of $50,000. In reaching this important milestone, the Fund now will be matched 1:1 by the Crown Family School for a total commitment of over $100,000. This Fund is another way the AAAC has advanced its mission to build connections among African American alumni and create meaningful opportunities to engage with current and prospective students, faculty, and staff.

The AAAC Founders Scholarship Fund has now become an integral part of the University of Chicago's endowment. All gifts to the fund will be managed and invested in perpetuity, and the earnings will be used solely to fund scholarships for students who self-identify as Black, African American, or as descending from American slave labor. And it will continue to grow! Contributions toward the endowment are encouraged through our giving website.

Since the initial launch of the Fund campaign, we have been deeply grateful for the leadership of Eugene Robinson, AM '09, Board President and Co-Chair of AAAC, Tawa Mitchell, AM '01, AAAC Chair, and Evelyn Green, AM '95, Chair of the scholarship and endowment committee. A special thanks to Louise Doss-Martin, AB '59, AM '63, and Terri Travis-Davis, AM '99, for their remarkable leadership and support in pioneering this important financial aid resource.

We invite you to join us on Saturday, February 26, when we will again honor Black History Month, celebrate the completion of this fundraising campaign, and gather for the Annual AAAC Social Justice symposium, Getting to the Root: Perspectives on Violence, Restorative Justice, and Criminal Justice Reform in the Black Community.

Best,

Deborah Gorman-Smith
Dean and Emily Klein Gidwitz Professor