$80M Infusion Propels VSU as Leader in Garnering PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT
BY ZERLINE HUGHES SPRUILL
Then it happened again. Ten years ago, Abdullah, now 57, was named president of Virginia State University, making him one of the youngest people to be installed in such a position. The accolades don’t stop there. During his decade as VSU president, Abdullah has amassed a shopping list of accomplishments that have catapulted the 144-year–old historically Black university into a trendsetting, top- ranking academic haven. This year, the campus was ranked by U.S. News & World Report no. 20 in Top Public Schools and no. 11 in HBCUs (tying with Bowie State University). This distinction is likely strongly connected to the fact that VSU has been upping its game recently, due in part to a monumental donation from MacKenzie Scott in late 2000 for $30 million – the largest single donor gift in the university's history. The donation, coupled with state funding, alumni donations and corporate gifts, allowed the university to grow their investments from about $40 million to $80 million, more than tripling its year- end financial reserves. VSU was ranked in 2023 as having the seventh-highest endowment among HBCUs, surpassing $100 million, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
Not because it was a childhood nickname or moniker like the NBA’s legendary Julius “Dr. J” Irving. Before he reached a quarter of a century in age, he earned his Ph.D. in civil engineering at age 24 – the youngest African American in the nation to do so. Makola Abdullah earned the title "Dr." before his prefrontal cortex was fully matured.
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