Community colleges get $50 Million endowment

SACRAMENTO
May 6, 2008 11:35am

California’s community college system, which has campuses throughout the Central Valley, has received a gift of $50 million from San Francisco-based Bernard Osher Foundation.

The full gift requires $50 million in matching contributions within the next three years.

The endowment will be managed by the Foundation for California Community Colleges.

The Osher Foundation is cutting a $25 million check now but will hold back on the remainder until the 109 colleges in the system come up with $50 million in gifts on their own.

The Osher Foundation is also making an immediate $20 million gift to the California State University and University of California systems to help students transferring from the two-year colleges.

(Listen to or download an MP3 audio file of this morning’s announcement by clicking on the link below. It starts with Diane Woodruff, chancellor of the California Community College system. The other speakers are introduced in the audio.)

California’s community colleges enroll a total of 2.6 million students a year.

The grants will pay for 1,250 scholarships in 2009, with eventually 5,000 students a year getting scholarship aid.