Either late last month or earlier this month, the headlines in my local paper were all about Binghamton University – the local university center that is part of the State University of NY system – receiving an anonymous donation of $6 million dollars.  At the same time, other universities across the country were also receiving anonymous donations.  

 

Usually, articles in the local paper about donations to Binghamton University revolve around local alumni donating monies.  This donation was different.  The donation was out of the blue and was not local as far as anyone knows.  The donor was anonymous according to press releases from the university and articles in the local newspaper.

 

Today, I am reading an article on Yahoo! news and lo and behold, Hunter College – a college in the City of NY system – received an anonymous donation of $5 million dollars.  For me, the good news about this article is that there is a connection between all these schools that have suddenly gotten rather large anonymous donations.    While Hunter’s donation was received in the fall of last year, the correlation has now been made to more than $70 million in donations across the country.  They are all lead by female university/college presidents.  All of the monies have come through a third party with the stipulation that the ultimate donor not be sought.

 

If, by some chance, the ultimate donor is out there reading my blog, thank you!  Whatever the motivation, whatever the thought process, now is a time that higher education needs all the resources it can muster to be sure our students have access during very tough economic times.